Tears of Hermos
by Gweniveve Skyes
Summary: What if Mai didn't join DOMA in season four? what if it was someone else? Someone near and dear to Joey's heart... Polarshipping and Gentleshipping. AU and slight OOCness
1. Chapter 1

Tears of Hermos

A/N: Yeah, funny story about this one lol. I was reading Alister's Girlfriend's story _'D' is for Doma _(part of her main story _ABC'S of Gentleshipping_) and suddenly, it was like a lightning blast from out of nowhere. I just _had _to go with the story line and continue writing it, with her benevolent permission of course XD. And so, I am. This is going to be fun lol, balancing both this and _Rise of the Stars _AND whatever one shots decide to randomly pop in my head lol.

Oh btw, those of you who like Pokemon, I am planning a story for that one as well, no title yet, but it does deal with Aura... I just lurve teasing my fans, if I have any lol.

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Grey clouds covered the city sky like a heavy wool blanket, bringing portents of a thunderstorm, a near perfect reflection of Serenity's Wheeler's mood. She had gotten into another fight with her mother and stepfather again, and in a barely contained maelstrom of pain and anger, she had stormed out of the apartment, hoping that time and the brisk air would soothe her ruffled feelings.

But the ominous clouds only added to the feelings, not taking them away. They would never understand her, she who had spent countless weeks in hospitals, the constant poking and prodding like she were some real life Operation game. They expect her to make friends at her school in an instant, after being isolated for long periods of time. They expected her o be like the other girls. Well, she wasn't like other girls

The dark thoughts grew in strength as she traveled down that road of her mind, a road that she had been traveling frequently as of late. The feelings of loneliness and powerless threatened to overwhelm the realm of rational thought at times.

None of her brother's friends ever came by to visit her, though Tea would drop a line occasionally. Mai had come by to visit her once or twice, but stopped when her parents had disapproved of the older woman befriending their daughter. They were so hypocritical, her parents. They tell her to make friends, yet when she does, they disapprove instantly.

But it wasn't enough. It was never enough, to have those few sparks of friendship, the only thins that she had ever really looked forward to, and to have them so brutally taken away by those who 'loved' her. It wasn't fair.

Joey would always claim that he was too busy to see her, but there was always that little dark voice in the back of her mind that would whisper, 'he's lies'.

Serenity slunk down against a wall, ears flowing freely down her cheeks. There was no stopping them now, very much like the torrential downpour from the sky overhead. The freezing rain soaked her clothes, clinging her to the bone, but she welcomed it. It was a wake up call to her. No longer would she be helpless, the naïve little girl sheltered from the world. But she had no idea where to begin. The feelings of powerless and loneliness were just too strong, running rampant in he heart-

"Ya know, you're goin' to catch pneumonia sittin' out here 'lone,"* Serenity stirred at the sound of the voice. A handsome young man stared down at her, concern in his sky blue eyes.

"Leave me 'lone," she mumbled, looking away from him

"I ain't leavin' you out here," he insisted. "What's the matter anyways? You don't look like you belong out here." the young man watched her, keen interest reflecting in his eyes. This could be potential. His boss would be pleased.

"You wouldn't understand."

He knelt down next to her, so that they could talk face to face. He tenderly tipped her chin up, letting the two of them see eye to eye. He saw the anger and the bitterness lurking in her chestnut brown eyes, like a tiger hidden in the grasses, waiting to pounce and unleash the hidden feelings.

"Wouldn't I?" he challenged. "You're lonely and tired of feeling weak and helpless."

Serenity blinked at him in astonishment. In a few simple words, he had hit the nail right on the head. "How did you-" she whispered.

"I can see it in your eyes." He stood up, his spiky brown hair now starting to droop due to the downpour. "And I can make those feelings all go away."

"Really?" She dared to hoped. Maybe this was what she was waiting for. To finally know the feeling of true happiness.

"Really." He offered his hand, the silver ring on it glimmering wetly in the rain. "Take my hand, and I promise that you'll never be alone again. The last part was more of a personal promise. They were a lot alike, him and her. He aimed to see that she would be safe and secure, those feelings gone from her eyes.

Without hesitation, she took it and he helped her off the wet pavement. Suddenly, she clung to him, seeking his warmth in the bone chilling rain.

"The name's Valon." He said.

"Serenity," she murmured into his red leather jacket,tears of joy and freedom now flowing down her cheeks instead.

The Orichalcos stone on Valon's ring pulsated with pleasure.

Teehheehee, I'm starting to like this one. (evil grin appears lol)

*If you haven't noticed already, I'm not very good with writing his Aussie accent. For those of you who can write it, cough*Kok and Alister's Girlfriend* cough, I would greatly appreciate some tips. And some reviews, if it wouldn't hurt too much lol.


	2. For Hire

For Hire

Yay! Chapter two! Yeah... pardon my enthusiasm lol, I was hyped up on a brownie while I was typing this XD! Mmmmmm.....brownie.....Xb. K, I better get to writing this.

(Note: This takes place approximately 3 months before Chapt. 1's events and about six months before season 4 starts)

Mai Valentine sat on the edge of her bathtub, idly painting her nails. She hummed along to a tune on the radio, perfectly content. Then the phone in her kitchen rang, its harsh tone shattering the peace.

"Oh now what!" she fumed, upset that the phone ruined her reverie. She stomped across her apartment to answer it. "If it's another one of those telemarketers, I swear I'll-" she picked up the cordless phone forcibly, tempted to chew the person out on the other end. But she managed to keep her temper in check and instead answered in a false perky voice: "Hello, this is Mai Valentine speaking."

"Why hello, Miss Valentine," a flamboyantly familiar voice answered at the other end. "So nice to hear from you."

Mai squeaked in surprised and nearly dropped the phone on to the linoleum. Maximilian Pegasus? How could that be? He was supposed to be dead. Or missing. Or something. "I thought you dropped off the face of the earth after Duelist Kingdom."

"So nice to hear from you to be concerned about my welfare," he drawled sarcastically. "But seriously, how have you been? The last I heard, you were in the finals of Battle City."

Mai grew impatient with his roundabout manner. "Look," she remarked, annoyance creeping into her voice. "I know that you just didn't drop a line for some social call. So please, state your business and let. Me. Be."

Pegasus sighed theatrically. "Oh, if you must. I was only trying to catch up my dear." He became serious. "I wish to hire you."

"For what?"

"Well its rather hard to explain-"

"I'm going to do it if you don't tell me what it is."

"I can't really tell you over the phone-"

Mai wanted to beat the man silly. _"You have got to be kidding me," _she thought. " Fine whatever. See ya." She prepared to hang up the phone.

She could hear him nearly start to panic on the other line. "Wait! Fine I'll tell you. Most of it though. The rest you'll have to hear in person.

Mai was becoming dangerously close to beating her head on the nearest kitchen cabinet. What was he hiring her for? Being a spy or like some chick from "Charlie's Angels"? And if that was the case, did that make him Charlie? She shuddered at that thought. But she figured that she would hear him out. "I'm listening."

"There has been a rash of 'dark dealings' lately. I want you to investigate them."

So an Angel it was then. "So I'm like some sort of private investigator then?" she asked.

"Not really. More like a protector of mankind."

_"Oh great, more magic." _ She had more than her fill of magic at Battle City. She still had nightmares occasionally about it. Pegasus better offer something good in payment for this . "So what do I get in payment?"

"Industrial Illusions will pay for all business expenses, including transportation, food and places to stay. In addition, we will pay your apartment's rent and utilities when you are traveling abroad. This is in addition to your paycheck, and in that case, we will have an account set up for you and your paychecks will go there."

Mai was sorely tempted by the offer. While she had plenty of money-a trust fund set up by her parents- Pegasus's offer was too good to simply ignore; however, the lucrative deal set off a red flag in her head. Either this job was really dangerous and thus was compensation for her services, or Pegasus had suddenly grown really generous. Sh hoped it was the latter; she really did not want to deal with any sort of magic. She pondered her options and replied, "I'll think about it."

"Oh good!" he shouted giddily on the other line. "My private plane will pick you up at Domino City Airport tomorrow at 10:00 am sharp.

"Wait, I didn't say 'yes'-" but her only reply was a audible 'click' as Pegasus hung up. "I swear, that guy's more impatient than Joey is, if that's even possible." She sighed and massaged her temples. His unexpected phone call had given her a tension headache. As she went back to the bathroom to get her pain medication, she mused out loud, "What have I gotten myself into?"

The plane ride to Pegasus's private island that next morning was pleasant, his employees catering to her every whim. But as she watched the ocean speed by, she was suddenly seized by a feeling of dread, leaving her with the sense that her life was about to get a whole lot more bleak.

She pushed those emotions aside- there was no point on worrying about the future- and turned to the situation at hand. _"I wonder why Pegasus of all people want to hire me? And what the heck did he mean by 'protector of mankind'? I hope he was just being over dramatic. Yeah, he was just being dramatic." _she tried to reassure herself, yet a part of her knew that wasn't true. _"I'm not some protector of mankind, that's Yugi's job. Heck, it could be Joey's or Kaiba's job, but not mine!" _Memories of Battle City came flooding back, like a tsunami rushing towards the shore. _"I, I was just there." _Marik still haunted her dreams frequently, a dark scepter in her subconscious mind. _"But maybe, maybe this is the change I need. A change of pace..."_

The private plane landed on the runway, the landing gear making a soft 'thunk' in the tires hit the pavement. Maximilian Pegasus, head of Industrial Illusions and back from the dead, waited for her. As she stepped off the plane, she was stunned by his disheveled appearance.

He looked worn down and haggard, like he had gotten into a wrestling match with Father Time and lost. Dark circles were under his eyes; it was apparent that he hadn't gotten a good night's sleep in a long while. His moon white hair still obscured the left side of his face; at least hadn't changed.

"Why hello, Miss Valentine! So nice to see you my dear!" Even his voice had changed. It had a hollow ring to it, like he was struggling to keep some semblance of reality in his life and it was slipping through his fingers like sand. "Come this way." He ushered her toward the castle, his employees following close behind at a respectful distance.

As they sat down in his office, Mai asked" So you said you wanted me to deal with some sort of 'dark dealings'. Are they business related or what. She sat idly in the chair across from him, watching the light play on her fingernails

"Tsk, tsk," he admonished her. "such impertinence in our youth nowadays."He reached behind his desk and started to pull something out of a drawer. "While it does partially is connected with my business, I can assure you that you will not be dealing with that. I had something else in mind for you." He placed a small wooden box down on his desk, the rich colors of the wood warm in the light. With a small silver key on a chain, he undid the lock, which popped open with a 'click', revealing something wrapped in a red silk handkerchief . Gingerly, he pulled the item out of the box, delicately unfolding the handkerchief as he did so. A faceted green stone, about half the size of his thumb, laid in the center.

"Beautiful," Mai murmured. As she reached to touch it touch the stone, she suddenly flinched and jerked her hand away like she had just been bitten. The stone had an ugly malevolent feel to it, therefore making it fall into the 'very bad' category.

Pegasus chuckled dryly. "Very beautiful and yet very deadly, like the asp. That Miss Valentine, is the Orichalcos stone. Don''t ask me how I got it, you don't want to know. The stone seeks to dominate the planes of existence by stealing away souls in order to fuel itself. Do not be fooled by its appearance, it is a malevolent, sentient being." He placed the stone back into its red silk cocoon. And locked it back in the box. "I'm hiring you to keep its power at bay."

"And how am I supposed to do that?"

"Well, the only way for it to obtain its souls is by dueling. When activated, it creates a seal in which no man can escape except through the conclusion of the duel. The loser gets their soul sealed away." Mai shuddered

"But that still doesn't answer my question. I mean, it's a lose/lose situation. No matte what the outcome is, that stupid rock still gets a soul."

"which is why I managed to create this. Don' ask me about this one either." Pegasus pulled out a pale gold stone from his coat pocket. "This is a counter to the magic of the Orichalcos. When used properly, it can shatter the seal, but only if you are participating in the duel."

The pieces started coming together in her head. "so that's why you want to hire me. You want me to travel around, breaking the power of the Seal."

"Exactly." He offered her the gold rock. "Will you do it or not?"

She hesitated for a moment, weighing the possibilities in her head. "I'll do it." She took the stone from his hand.

"Good," he leaned back in his chair. "This is what I want you to do first..."

A/N: Told ya it completely goes AU lol?...So Serenity is a bad guy, while Mai is a good guy... and you guys are probably wondering WT* (I don't curse lol)


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3 (Sorry folks I couldn't think of a good title)

To all my loyal fans out there: I profusely apologize for not updating this chapter sooner. I have been working on another fic and I got sucked into that one. I am also planning another Yu-Gi-Oh fic called "The Knife of Anubis" It focuses on Seto Kaiba and the Ishtar clan (the summary's in my profile). But I have a feeling that that one will turn out better than "Rise of the Stars" (which has officially died BTW, but I don't have the heart to remove it yet) After all, who DOESN'T love Seto Kaiba? Lol (I want that coat! XD)... Okay ,there are some people who don't....

So without further ado, here is chapter three!

Takes place about a couple of weeks before the start of season 4

The temple loomed above the ocean waves, a monolith rising above the blue chaos. The temple, which had survived the rise and fall of Atlantis, was once the main temple of the Atlantean god of the sea. Now, it had fallen into disgrace; it was the home of trapped souls and dark dealings; however, the religious aspect of the ancient was now gone and served as a safe haven for the men and women who were part of an association known as DOMA. Currently, one member of the organization, an Australian teen named Valon, was looking for another member, a young woman named Serenity.

" 'Ey Serenity! Serenity w'ere are ya?" Valon spotted another member, a redhead named Alister.

" 'Ey Al! 'Ave you seen Ren?" He asked the tall redhead, using his nickname for his female companion. Over the past three months, Valon and Serenity had gotten very close to each other. One could even say they had crushes on each other.

"No, I have not seen 'Ren'," Alister answered, perturbed at the Aussie. " And _please_ stop calling me 'Al'! It gets rather annoying."

"'K! T'anks Al!" Valon bounded away. " Ren! 'Ey Serenity, where are ya?"

_"I swear, I think he enjoys annoying me," _Alister thought.

"Ah, young love," Raphael, another member of DOMA, joked softly. He towered over the redhead, broad in the chest, with blond hair and soul-piercing blue eyes.

"Makes me feel kind of bad for Serenity. Almost." Alister and Raphael considered Serenity like a younger sister, providing a voice of reason and levelheadedness. The four of them formed something along the lines of a family unit, albeit a very dysfunctional one.

XXXXXXXXXXX

After about fifteen minutes of searching (and resisting the temptation of 'searching' in Alister's room) Valon finally found Serenity. She was leaning against one of the outer supporting pillars of the temple complex, her reddish-brown hair swaying slightly in the cool ocean breeze.

"T'ere ya are! I've been lookin' all over for ya!"

Serenity didn't respond to Valon's voice like she normally did. She continued to stare out into the sea, her body posture indicated that she wasn't in a very good mood.

Valon stepped back a pace. She was in one of her 'moods' again. Thoughts of her brother and his friends were often the cause of it. But Valon was stubborn and her called her name again.

"Yeah, what?" She snapped, whirling around to face him.

"I was just checkin' on ya. 'Adn't heard from ya in a w'ile. W'at's the matter anyways?" He knew the answer to this, but he figured it was best to get it out there anyway.

"I don't need you to check on me every five minutes like I was some little kid. Beside, I was just thinking. That doesn't necessarily require adult supervision anyway."

"O'." Were ya thinkin' 'bout your brother again?"

"If you really want to know, then yeah." Serenity picked up a chunk of loose gravel on the ground and flung it outward, where it sailed through the air and plunk into the blue waters of the ocean, lost in the lost Atlantean god's domain. "You know, he wasn't really there for me. Even though our parents were divorced, he still could have visited me. But he didn't. Then he decides to waltz back into my life, claiming that he managed to get the money I needed in order to have my eye operation."

"Well, it'd good t'at 'e got ya the money." In Valon's opinion, that was the only thing that her brother did right.

"But that's not the point. After eight years with barely any contact whatsoever, he decided to walk right back into my life, play the hero and expect everything to be alright again, like it was before our parent's divorce! I've been alone for so long and he expects everything to be back to normal! Well it won't!" She wrapped her arms around herself and softly muttered. "He doesn't understand, he never will..." He voice trailed off and she fell silent.

Valon moved closer to Serenity. "Well, ya ain't alone now. Ya got me, Alister, and Raphael." He fumbled, trying to find the right words to say. He was never very good with empathizing with other people.

"I know." She leaned up against Valon, closing her eyes, basking in his warmth. "Some days, it feels like you guys are my real family more than anything."

"Yea'," Valon, surprised by this sudden 'closeness' between him and Serenity, was unsure what to do. He gulped, praying frantically that she wouldn't hear his heart hammering in his chest. But something, he wasn't sure what (maybe it was hormones), took over and her gently wrapped his arms around her abdomen. She sighed and intertwined her fingers with his until it was like they were never really apart. The couple stood in silence, listening to the sounds of the ocean and enjoying each other's company and warmth.

"You know, I never really did thank you for bringing me here," she purred, turning around and slowly snaking her arms around Valon's neck.

"Heh, ya don' need to worry 'bout it," Valon gulped again. She soundly oddly, _seductive. _His hands which were still around her waist, suddenly grew clammy. _"Valon, ya idiot!" _He scolded himself. _"She's seducin' ya and ya sound like a bloomin' idiot! Brilliant!"_

Serenity leaned in closer until their faces were only mere centimeters apart. "You sure?" She whispered, sending a shiver down Valon's spine.

_"Just do it, ya freakin' idiot!" _His hormones screamed. _"Just do it already!" _Now normally, Valon considered himself a regular Casanova, a ladies man (much to the amusement of Alister and Raphael), but he had never been in a situation quite like this one. He leaned in as well, their lips barely touching.

" Hey Valon! Serenity!" Alister's voice rang throughout the temple complex, interrupting the moment. "Dartz wants to see us now!"

Valon wanted to strangle Alister. Serenity disentangled herself from him. "We better get going then," she said, almost regretfully. She gave Valon a quick pack on the cheek. "See you around." She winked at him and ran off toward's Dartz's headquarters.

"Aaaaahhhh!" Valon screamed, nearly beating his head against a pillar. He was so close too! _"You are going to die a slow, painful death, Al."_

XXXXXXXXXXX

"About time you showed up Valon," Alister said sardonically to the tardy teen.

"Shut up Al."

"I told you to not call me 'Al'-"

"Ahem," Dartz's voice interrupted the soon to be squabble. "Thank you."

"How may we serve you Master Dartz?" Raphael bowed his head.

_"Suck up," _Valon thought. He wasn't in a very good mood.

"The time has come for the final stages of our plan into motion," Dartz began. "However, in order to summon the Great Leviathan, me must obtain a few items first."

The DOMA warriors were quiet.

"Ms. Wheeler," Dartz turned to Serenity. " The time has come for you to prove yourself to our organization. You will travel to Maximilian Pegasus's private island and bring me back his soul, along with a stone the color of pale gold. And you three," Dartz turned to Valon, Raphael, and Alister. "Will bring me back the three Egyptian god cards. I need their power and energy in order to bring back the Leviathan. Gurimo will be assisting you."

"Well ain't t'at gonna be a 'oot," Valon muttered darkly, earning him a stern glance from Raphael.

Dartz waved a hand dismissing the four to their respective jobs. When they leaft, Dartz turned to a wall covered with small stone tiles; however, if one were to look, closely, one would see that they weren't actually tiles at all. Each 'tile' was like a modern day Duel Monsters card, but instead of fearsome beasts, they were imprinted with the images of people. Dartz spread his arms out with reverence. "So many souls, so little time... Soon, my Leviathan, you will be able to wreak your vengance on this corrupt and sinful world of ours." He began to laugh manically, his laughter echoing throughout the the main temple.

Told you there would be fluff XD. And I think we've all learned something today: ignore Alister when needed lol.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

W00T! Two chapters in two days! I am on a roll!

A/N: I do not write out duels, only the more vital parts, mostly the end. I focus on the plot and character development so don't get ticked with me. On that note, it's best that you read Alister's Girlfriend's oneshot "'D' is for DOMA", which is part of "The ABC's of Gentleshipping."

XXXXX

Joey wasn't doing very well. Correction: Joey was doing abysmally.

_"I can't duel my own sister," _but he had no choice. The Seal of Orichalcos had them trapped within its magical confines. Only one would get out.

"Well, aren't you going to make your final move already?" Serenity dismissively flicked a strand of hair from her face. "I've got better things to do than to sit here in this dump all day."

"Hey! He's thinking about his next move!" Tristan shouted. He was absolutely heartbroken that Serenity, his crush, had joined DOMA.

"Come on Serenity! Snap out of it!" Tea yelled.

"How many times do I need to tell you cheerleaders to but out? I said I made my choice and I'm sticking to it. This is between me and him." Serenity snapped, pointing at her brother.

_"I wish we could do something to help," _Yugi thought.

_"Have faith in Joey," _the Spirit of the Millennium Puzzle, the Pharaoh, replied. _"He'll find a way out of this." _He placed a spectral hand on Yugi's shoulder. _"It's all we can do."_

The two turned their attention back to the duel.

_"She's right. I gotta do somethin' or my soul's gonna be trapped forever,"_Joey glanced at his hand. He had a 'Monster Reborn' and 'Panther Warrior' in his hand, but nothing else that could help him. _"Nothin' in here," _He looked at his field. He had two Scapegoats on the field while Serenity had the monsters: 'The All-Seeing White Tiger', 'St. Joan', and a monster he had never seen before, 'The Paladin of Midnight', a monster with an attack power of 3200. _"Nothin' out there either." _All three were just waiting to obliterate the rest of his life points. _"I just need faith in the heart of the cards." _Hands trembling, he slowly placed one of them on his deck. _"Gotta have faith," _he mentally chanted. A sudden flash of bright light appeared in his mind's eye.

XXXXXXXX

He found himself in a large antechamber peering upward at a dragon statue made of solely crystal. There were two other bases next to the dragon, but they were empty. Crystal shards were all over the tile floor.

"Where am I?" he wondered, looking around his surroundings with his mouth hanging partly open in awe.

"You are in the Realm of the Beasts."

"Gah! The Dark Magician Girl!? I must of hit my head or somethin'."

The Dark Magician Girl pointed at the base of the dragon statue. "I can assure you that you didn't hit your head. You are the third and final Chosen Duelist. Pull the sword and free the mighty Hermos." The sword that she mentioned was embedded in the right claw of the dragon. The hilt shimmered, as if it were beckoning to him.

"Um, okay." The blond teen grasped the sword's hilt and pulled. It didn't budge. _"Its just like that stupid sword at that amusement park I went to once." _But he wasn't going to let some dinky sword beat him. He pulled again, this time using his feet to act as leverage. This time, the sword gave way, sliding out of the crystal with ease, causing Joey to lose his balance and fall over.

Nothing happened at first, but then shafts of light shot out from the 'statue' as cracks appeared in the crystal. Crystal chunks and shards went flying as a red dragon broke free from its prison. It shook its wings as it gave out a loud roar, causing the antechamber to tremble. A scar was on its right foot, a reminder of the sword that was once there.

"Whoa, did I just do that?" Joey asked, pointing at the rouge beast, a mixture of confusion and awe in his voice. _"Yep, must've definitely hit my head."_

The Dark Magician Girl nodded. Yes, you have freed the mighty Hermos. We thank you."

"Um sure. No problem, I guess."

A deep resonant voice echoed in Joey's head. _"When the time comes you'll know what to do." _The vision faded as quickly as it came, bringing back to reality where his sister waited.

_"What just happened?" _He shook his head furiously, tying to dispel the vision. What had felt like minutes must have been seconds for his friends. He drew his card. "No way..." A blue card with the image of Hermos was in his hand. He looked at his hand again. Maybe there was a way to win.

As Joey drew his card, Yugi's pocket started glowing and it pulled out the source. His card, the ' Eye of Timeaus' was glowing with a pale golden white light. _"That's the second time it's done that," _he thought. _"I wonder why it's doing that." _

"I summon the 'Claw of Hermos!" Joey's confident voice interrupted Yugi's thoughts. The red dragon from his vision appeared on the field. While it was not as elegant as Yugi's ' 'Eye of Timeaus', it certainly had its own rugged beauty. It was bulky, with large muscles and a large roughly rectangular head. The large ebony horn on its nose gleamed under the fluorescent lights of the atrium. Its scythe like claws flexed in anticipation as it waited for its master's orders.

" 'E ain't supposed to 'ave that!" Valon, who had been standing on a balcony with Raphael, protested.

"Apparently, he does now." Raphael simply stated.

"Now I sacrifice my Scapegoats to summon 'Panther Warrior! Fuse with the 'Claw of Hermos' to form the...what the?" The violet feline and the dragon to form a double bladed ax the shade of a vibrant red-purple.

Valon burst out laughing, doubling over and clutching his sides. "A purple ax?! Oooh... how scary! And so flamboyant too! Sorry Wheeler but they don't match your eyes! Oh this is just classic!"

Joey glowered at the Australian. "Aw, shut up! But no matter. I activate 'Monster Reborn to bring back my 'Flame Swordsman'!" Joey's signature card appeared on the field. "Grab that ax to slice and dice her 'All-Seeing White Tiger!" The blue and red warrior grabbed the haft of the weapon, increasing its attack points by six hundred. But instead of cleaving the big cat in half, it sucked the tiger into the ax head, increasing its attack by another 1400 points, and depleting Serenity's lifepoints by seven hundred. The 'Flame Swordsman' then attacked the 'Paladin of Midnight, further decreasing her life points until it was a measly two hundred " 'K, didn't see that one coming..."

"No," Valon whispered. In a sudden turnaround, Serenity lost almost the rest of her lifepoints. He wasn't going to lose her to the Seal. He wasn't going to let that happen. He stood on the ledge of the balcony, wobbling precariously as he struggled for a few heart stopping moments to gain his balance.

"Valon, just what do you think you're doing?" Raphael asked, though in his heart, he knew what the teen was going to do.

"I've gotta save Ren! I ain't gonna lat 'er lose." He leaped off the balcony, the Orichalcos stone in his ring glowing with an unnatural power. "By the power of the Orichalcos, I break the Seal!

The room erupted in a flash of green light.

Ooh, a cliffhanger! Almost as scary as flamboyant purple axes XD


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

**I apologize for taking so long with this chapter; while I had most of the chapter written out, I had no idea how to proceed from there. Also the chapter needed a LOT of refinement, I'm essentially my own beta reader 8D. So here's chapter 5!**

** Since it has been a while since I have actually watched any episodes of season four, there might be some discrepancies between the storyline and the actual season **

**(and I'm not talking about the AU part either) so I apologize for that as well.**

"Come on! Wake up!" Valon was panicking, cradling Serenity in his arms, urging her to wake up. The explosion caused by the release of energy from the Orichalcos seal, in addition to the loss of strength during her duel with Joey, knocked her unconscious. During the chaos that resulted from the explosion allowed Valon, who was carrying Serenity, and Raphael to escape from the building. They were on the outskirts of the desert, waiting for Serenity to awaken. "Come on! Please Serenity, ya just gotta wake up!"

Serenity's eyes weakly fluttered open. "Wha- what happened?" She peered upward at Valon. "What's going on Val'? Did I win?"

"No, ya did'n'."

"If I didn't win the duel, then why am I still here?"

"Err,..."

"Valon stopped the duel." Raphael said; he was still a little miffed about Valon stopping the duel. True, he cared for Serenity, he couldn't become attached to people. "He used his stone to shatter the Seal. The shockwave resulting from the released energy knocked you unconscious."

"What?!" Serenity looked genuinely upset. "I could have won the duel! I had him!" She yelled.

"'E 'ad one of the Dragons..." Valon offered meekly.

"Ooh, I don't believe you!" She disentangled herself from his grip and stalked off towards the motorcycles that were parked nearby.

"Wait Serenity! W'ere ya goin'?"

"To finish what I started!" She plunked herself on one of the motorcycles and turned the ignition. The motorcycle turned on with a roar.

"Wait!" Valon ran towards the cycle. "You're still really weak Serenity." He placed a hand on her shoulder. "We're gonna get 'im Ren." He kissed her. "I promise."

The was a resounding 'SMACK!' as Serenity slapped him across the face. "I don't need your help. I would have won if you hadn't butted in thinking you were some kind of hero rushing in to save the damsel in distress."

"But..." Valon rubbed his cheek

"I got it." The motorcycle roared off away from Raphael and Valon.

The area grew silent again as Serenity left. "Master Dartz isn't going to be very happy with you." Raphael spoke, his deep baritone voice chiding.

"I don' care 'bout Master Dartz." Valon stared off in the distance that Serenity left in. Her slap was painful in more ways than one. " I care 'bout Serenity rig't now. I screwed up. I jus' wanted to keep 'er safe. Guess t'at didn't really work huh? I gotta find 'er and 'er brot'er. 'E's the one that started all t'is ya know. And I'm gonna fix it." Valon got up on his bike and put on the helmet hanging from the bars. "Don't wait up!" The motorcycle drove off in Serenity's direction.

Raphael shook his head. This was why he never got into relationships, too much drama. He left on his cycle as well, heading towards the direction of Paradias headquarters to report to Master Dartz. He would find the information about the revealing of the third Chosen Duelist most informative, especially due to his ties.

XXXXXXXXXXX

Joey woke up with a groan, his head pounding like mad. He found himself amidst the wreckage of a couple of train cars, twisted metal everywhere. The train ha was in was tilted crazily on its side, the left side of the car (now the roof) was sheared completely off, like taking the lid off a anchovy can.

"Man, what happened?" He wondered out loud, looking around the wreckage The memories came rushing back.

_ "Come on man!" Tristan was shouting, wind whipping around. Tristan Tea, and the Pharaoh were on the train car in front of him. Some one had sabotaged the train so that it would split apart and crash. A pin that connected the two cars was shaking around in its socket like crazy, the pin threatening to fly out at any second._

_ "I know! I know!" Joey yelled back, staring down at the train tracks rushing underneath him in a blur. He gulped nervously, knowing that misstep could mean a one way ticket under the train. The car was rattling as well, forcing Joey to cling on to the sides of the car entrance. _

_ Just as Joey was about to leap however, the train hit a bump, causing the bolt to fly out of the socket, striking Joey across the face. He fell backwards into the car and the car in front shot out, free form its confines._

_ Tea screamed. "Joey!"_

_ But he could no longer hear her. His world went black._

Joey felt something wet on his fore head. Ha placed a hand to it and grimaced when he pulled it away so he could see. Blood.

"Well that coulda been worse." He pulled himself upright, leaning against an upturned seat when he got lightheaded, trying to get a sense where he was. The train cars were in the middle of the desert, the heat from the midday sun shimmering off the ground. Joey wobbled for a couple of moments, the blood loss now kicking in; head wounds had a tendency to bleed a lot, no matter how superficial.

"I better get this cleaned up," After a few minutes of searching, he found a couple of towels and some cold water bottles, courtesy of a beverage cart. A first aid kit was found nearby tucked between two seats, the contents spilling out. He grabbed the antiseptic and a roll of bandages and began to clean the wound with a damp towel, cleaning the wound with an easy grace that spoke of long experience.

He was used to cleaning himself up. Between the scuffles around school and the occasional beating or two from his alcoholic father, he had a lot of experience. Joey took a swig from one of the water bottles that he placed next to him. He poured the antiseptic on next, biting his lip as the peroxide stung. He couldn't do the bandage though, it would have been too stifling in the desert heat, so he would just have to settle for constant disinfecting of the cut. He then cleaned up the other cuts as well.

After he tended to his wounds, he leaned back against a seat and checked his cell phone. "No signal. Guess I can't call the gang to see how they're doin'." His only choice was to wait until nightfall, then walk along the tracks, hoping to find some sort of civilization.

"Hey Wheeler!" A grating voice interrupted his thoughts. Joey peered outside to find the source.

"Rex?"

XXXXXXXXXXX

"What do you mean 'the train has left'?!" Mai shouted at the man at the ticket counter. "It left a half hour early!"

The man at the ticket counter shrugged helplessly. "I'm sorry miss, but I can't control these kind of things."

Mai restrained from giving this man a piece of her mind. The stone that Pegasus had given her acted as a divining rod, leading her to the Orichalcos. The stone had lead her here, to this train station out in the middle of nowhere and the said train that had left already. The stone still had the residual golden glow, a signal that the source of the Orichalcos was strong. There was enough evidence to assume that the train was used to smuggle a large amount of the Orichalcos stones to who knows where. She took a deep breath to calm herself. "Fine. Can you at least tell me where the train was going to?" she asked sweetly.

The guy at the ticket counter flushed. "Well, if I recall correctly," he mused, trying to look suave and handsome to Mai. "The train was headed off towards San Francisco. There is another train that will be going there in a couple of hours. Maybe you would like to stay here and wait for it?" He looked desperate.

Mai raised an elegant eyebrow at him. "Sorry hun, I've already got a way to get there." She turned to leave. "Besides, you aren't my type." She left the small train station to her bike waiting outside; the bike was courtesy of one of Pegasus's hefty paychecks.

As she sat down in the seat of her bike, she unhooked the golden stone from the choker she wore and held it out in front of her, moving it from side to side in order to figure which direction the Orichalcos stones went to. The stone began to glow brightly straight in front of her. "Alright, so they went to San Francisco too. Looks like I'll be getting that vacation sooner than I thought. I always wanted to try their sourdough bread there." she revved up her bike and zoomed off, racing along the side of the railroad tracks, a cloud of dust behind her.

About thirty miles down from the train tracks, a flash of green caught her eyes. Straight ahead, a beam of green light lit up the clear blue sky. The shade of green was unmistakable; someone had activated the Seal of Orichalcos.

She cursed sharply, there was no way she could eliminate the Seal now, the stone only worked if she was in the duel; however, the stone could still work somewhat, destroying the Orichlcos rock _after_ the duel, so she couldn't save them both. The speedometer on her bike went up to nearly a hundred as she sped towards the source, praying that she wasn't too late. But as she got closer, the stone that was still clutched in her hand went crazy, pulsing a vibrant shade of red along with the bright gold. "Now that's never happened before." She said, taking a quick glance down at the rock. A large lump of gray appeared in the horizon, next to what looked like the Seal of Orichalcos. She was too late; the duel had already started.

XXXXXXXXXXX

"Ha! There's no way you can win now Wheeler!" Rex Raptor cackled. "My Tyrant Dragon will wipe out the rest of your lifepoints and your souls will be lost in the Seal forever!"

"Ain't gonna happen Dino Breath!" Joey yelled, his overconfidence a facade for his fear. All he had on the field was Gearfried the Iron Knight, not even remotely strong enough to do a dent to the Tyrant Dragon staring him down, as if the monster could sense his fear. _"I gotta pull that Claw of Hermos." _he thought _"Come on Lady Luck," _Joey prayed fervently. He pulled a card from the deck slot. "Yes!" He grinned at Rex. "You're sooo in for it now!" I activate 'Release Restraint', which frees Gearried the Iron Knight from his iron armor!" The iron armor cracked and fell off the Knight, revealing a muscular warrior with fierce eyes and long black hair. "Now I summon the Claw of Hermos!" The sky was lit up as Joey's dragon was summoned on the field, the red beast roaring a challenge skyward. "Finally I fuse my Claw of Hermos and fuse it with me Red-Eyes Black Dragon to form 'Red Eyes Black Dragon Sword and fuse it with Gearfried!" A wicked looking curved black sword with the hilt of a Red Eyes's head appeared on the field. Gearfried grasped the blade in his hands, the look on the monster's face as eager as its master's. "Now, finish hi-"

A feminine voice interrupted him in mid attack. "Joey?"

Joey spun around. His jaw practically dropped to the earth. "Mai? What on earth are _ya_ doin' here of all places?"

"I could say the same thing for you."

Joey gave his characteristic grin. "It's a long story. I'll tell ya when I'm finished here." He turned back to Rex. "As I was sayin', finish him off Gearfried!" The bare-chested warrior lunged at the Tyrant Dragon and stabbed the black blade deep into the monster's chest. With a shrill cry, the dragon burst into a flurry of pixels, dropping Rex's points down to zero. The Seal of Orichalcos, sensing a loser, began to glow, closing in on Rex Raptor. Joey shuddered as Rex's eyes went blank as he soul was sealed away. He dropped like a stone when the Seal faded. Joey was suddenly left with the feeling of vertigo. He swayed for a moment as he tried to regain his balance.

Mai rushed to the motionless body of Rex Raptor and pulled the Orichalcos out from Rex's pocket. Pulling the gold stone, she touched the Orichalcos with the gold one. The Orichalcos flared and then faded to a drab rock, devoid of all color. She then smashed the stone under her heel.

As she was doing this, Joey watched her with astonished eyes. She was the last person he would expect out here in the middle of the desert. She changed so much since he last saw her at Battle City. She wore a white tube top with a dark blue, almost black, jacket and matching skirt. She still wore her characteristic boots and deck holder strapped to her leg. But it was her dueldisk that got the most attention. The dueldisk wasn't in the style of the one KaibaCorp distributed. It was shaped like a wing and of a bright blue color, the same color as the wings of her beloved Harpy Ladies. Her amethyst eyes blazed with a purpose and arrested his attention, drawing him into the depths like they did back when he first met her. Joey shook his head furiously, trying to dispel those thoughts. He was in the middle of a desert for crying out loud! It wasn't the time or place for that sort of thing, even if she _did _reciprocate

those feelings.

Mai, finished with her task, turned to him. "So what _are _you doing here?" she asked, hands on hips.

"Well, pretty much in a nutshell, Yug' and I and the rest of the gang hafta save the world from this psychotic nutjob who wants to destroy the world. Oh, and Yugi and I are these supposed 'Chosen Duelists'," He made air quotes. "Who have these really cool dragons that are gonna help us save the world."

"Uh- huh." She looked behind him. "And where is the rest of the gang?"

"That way. The train got separated. The Pharaoh, Tea, and Tristan are there while I'm here."

"The Pharaoh?"

"Another long story. So what are ya doin' here Mai?"

"I was hired by Pegasus to find and destroy the Orichalcos stones with this." She showed him the gold stone. "This stone led me here to you."

"You're destroyin' the stones? That's pretty cool. You can be with us then!"

"I still have other tasks I need to do Joseph."

"Yeah, but we're gonna find the head honcho of this racket. You can use your rock thingy there!"

Mai rolled her eyes. She still had other stones to destroy, but he did make a valid point. Her skills would be invaluable to them. And being with Joey wasn't _too _horrible of a thing. "I guess you make a good point."

"Sweet! Now we just gotta find the Pharaoh and the rest of the gang!" He looked over at Rex. "But what are we gonna do with him?"

"We're bringing him with us, duh."

"Heh heh, right." He ran a hand through his dirty blond hair. " There's some water bottles in the train car. I'll go get those!" He ran to the wracked train car and the beverage cart.

Mai watched him scramble to the train car. He seemed way too enthusiastic to be saving the world, but then again, this _was _Joey Wheeler she was talking about. Still, she had the nagging suspicion that he was hiding something from her and she was going to find out what it was.

"Got 'em!" He was using his jacket as a pouch of some sorts, holding at least a half a dozen of cool water bottles.

"You look like a kangaroo." Mai commented.

"Hey, as long as I got these, I don't care if I look even like a hippopotamus."

Mai got on her bike, Joey behind her with the limp body of Rex draped across the bike. He wrapped one hand around her waist, the other keeping Rex from falling off the bike.

Mai swore she felt a jolt of electricity ran down her spine when Joey's fingertips brushed across her bare skin. She ignored the fluttery feeling. "Ready?"

"Yeah." She could feel Joey's breath on the nape of her neck. She ignored those feelings too.

"Alright. Let's go find your friends." The bike, now with two more passengers, revved away from the twisted wreckage of the train and into the unknown.

Yeah for almost there Polarshipping! Don't worry folks, Valon and Serenity will be back soon, with a very mushy and fluffy scene XD.

A/N: And on another note, when I write Mai and Joey together, I will ALWAYS write Joey as 18+ and Mai will be NO MORE than three years older than him. I'm planning a Mai/ Joey centric fic that will (hopefully) start to come out over the summer. The tentative title is 'Sacrifices to the Horned God'. It'll have a LOT of Celtic Mythology thrown in there, way different from the typical Egyptian stuff. So look out for that one folks. Actually, look out for a LOT of fics this summer, including the sequel to this one.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

**So just so ya'll know, the episodes that show the part of Joey, Tristan, The Pharaoh and Tea being separated from each other will take over the course of two days, making more time for character development and mushy stuff XD.**

**P.S: There is no sign whatsoever of Puzzleshipping in this chapter or in any other chapter. Zip. Nada. Zilch! And no Revolutionshipping either**

"_The night sky is beautiful," _The Pharaoh thought as he peered upwards into the black velvet sky. _"Yugi would have enjoyed it very much. He always hated not being able to see the night sky in Domino City._" he closed his eyes, trying to stop the tears that were threatening to form. He missed him very much and he lost him all thinks to one stupid mistake. Tea, Tristan and he found a small cave in a cliffside, easily accessible from foot; they were using it for shelter for the night.

"Pharaoh?" Tea had crept up next to him. "Are you alright?" she asked, concern in her voice. It was only those two; Tristan had left to look for food and water.

"I was just thinking, that's all."

"About what?"

"It just feel like the world has gone, you know..." He refrained from cursing. Yugi always hated cursing, a habit that-- mostly-- had rubbed off onto the Pharaoh.

"Mad?" Tea offered.

Yami nodded. "Exactly. All this stuff going on, Yugi, Joey's sister, Weevil, all of it caused by one organization bent on shaping the world in their own image." He paused; there was something even deeper affecting his psyche. "But mostly I was just thinking about what that man Raphael said to me. Was I really an evil Pharaoh? I don't think I was, but I do not remember anything from my past, so I'm not really sure, Tea."

"You aren't an evil person Pharaoh," Tea tried to reassure him. "You're a really good person despite what that Raphael guy said.. He's just trying to mess with your head so don't believe him."

"Thank you for your kind words Tea." Yami gave a faint smile, the first since his duel with Raphael. "They mean a lot."

"It's what friends do." Tea beamed back.

"Hey guys!" Tristan's voice called from the bottom of the hill. "I found a small stream near here! And some root thingys that look like turnips! We could eat those!"

Tea pulled a disgusted face. "Yummy, turnips for dinner, but at least I can soak my feet. They're killing me."

"Maybe you should have worn better shoes." The Pharaoh joked lightly.

"Well, I didn't exactly think I would be running around in the middle of nowhere." She stood up and offered a hand. "We better get going before Tristan eats all the turnips."

"Actually, he can eat them for all I care." Yami took her hand and pulled himself up. "But unfortunately, we do need some energy for tomorrow."

"Good point." Treading carefully, the two made their way to the bottom of the cliff where Tristan was waiting.

XXXXXXXXXXX

The small campfire crackled as Mai and Joey huddled around it trying to get whatever warmth they could from the flames. The two stopped for the night, making a shelter using the portable tent that Mai carried. The motorcycle was next to it. They had a supper of granola bars and some other travel snacks that Mai had in the side bags on the motorcycle.

Mai glanced over at Joey. He had been unusually silent since they had stopped for the night, staring into the flames as if her were seeking a hidden answer in the fiery depths. The flames danced in his golden brown eyes.

"Joseph? Is something wrong?"

"I'm fine." he lied. "Just tired, I guess. Plus its freezing out here."

She frowned at him. "I don't believe you. What's going on Joseph? You've been quiet all evening, and when that happens, I know there's something wrong."

He looked over at her. He looked as if he had lost a part of his very soul. " I screwed up Mai and I mean big time."

"How so?"

"Its my sister. She's," He tried to fight past the lump that suddenly formed in his throat. "Workin' for them now."

"Working for who?"

"You know, those Orichalcos goons. Apparently she's in love with one of them, this guy named Valon. I messed up Mai. I should have been there for her and I never was, and because of me, she's workin' for those creeps. But if I tried to save her, She might lose her soul to that stupid Seal." He put his face in his hands. "I'm the worst brother ever."

Mai could feel her heart break as he told her Serenity was working for them now, but the last thing Joey needed was a pity party. She sat down in front of him and jerked his face up so that they were seeing eye to eye.

"You need to snap out of it Joey!" She scolded. "You didn't force her to join them, she did it herself! I'm upset that she's working for them now too, but we can't just sit here moping over it like a pair of lost puppies! The Joey Wheeler I know wouldn't just sit here! He would find a way to rescue his friends and family no matter how hopeless it seemed. The Joey I know would be the one to willingly give his own life and soul to save the people he cared about the most!" The image of her duel with Marik and him sprang into her mind, how he was willing to take the final blow for her, even if it killed him in the process.

He blinked as if he had just been slapped. She was right, all he did was sit around and mope, not trying to find a way to save Serenity like he should have been. "I guess you're right." He admitted sheepishly.

"Of course I'm right. I'm always right." She joked. She stood back up and yawned, stretching like a cat. "Guess we better get to bed. It'll be a long day tomorrow."

Joey nodded and looked over at the tent. It was a small tent, probably built for one person. He gulped as he realized the implications of what that small and intimate space meant, especially for a hormonal teenager with the woman he had feelings for. "The tent's kind of small," he finally said.

"Yeah so?"

"Well, its gonna be kind of crowded."

"Why thank you Captain Obvious."

"I could, you know, sleep outside, that way it won't be so crowded...."

"I'm not letting you freeze out here Joseph. Do you have any idea how cold it gets out here? Besides, it'll only be for one night." She went in the tent, then popped her head back out. "Well? Are you just going to stand out there all day or what?"

Joey bit his lip and nodded, wishing at the moment that he had Yugi's self control, but then again the little guy (in a good way) had never been put in this kind of situation. He took a couple of steps forward until the toe of his shoe caught on a rock sticking halfway out of the earth.

It was like watching something out of a funny home video. He crashed into the tent, nearly on top of Mai. He held his hands out to brace himself.

And, as Fate would have it (he swore that she was out to get him) he ended up right above her, his hands just above her shoulders, their faces inches away from each other. He felt the polyester fabric of the tent just above him. He turned a bright red. "Heh, I tripped."

"Well I can see that." Her face was just as red, if not redder, than his. She could feel herself lost in his eyes, those very same eyes that attracted her to him in the first place. They weren't a pure shade of brown as she had originally thought; gold and emerald flecks danced in the warm pools, giving them a depth that she had never seen before. Her eyes traveled along the faint white scar across the bridge of his nose and the one on his cheekbone. _"Get a hold of yourself, Mai!" _she inwardly scolded. _"We're in the middle of nowhere and in the middle of a crisis! You're supposed to be saving the world, not falling in love with a guy!" _ However, on this night, logic would be completely ignored as the feelings of the heart took the reins. She closed the gap between them.

XXXXXXXXXXX

The city was dark and cold as Valon wandered the streets, trying to find the girl he had fallen in love with.

How could he have been so stupid? She didn't need any sort of protection, she easily proved that with Pegasus, yet his need to keep her safe had overridden any semblance of common sense he had left. The kiss wasn't exactly the best idea either. There was a rumble in the distance, a sign on a storm heading his way.

_" 'Ow fitting," _he thought. _"It was rainin' t'e first time I met 'er too. Maybe it's a sign." _ He slowly prowled the streets, looking down every alleyway, trying to catch a glimpse of her long auburn hair, or the lingering scent of her cherry blossom shampoo. There was another rumble, even closer this time, as the first thunder clouds began to roll in. "Crud. Looks like it's gonna rain." But he couldn't give up on his search for her, the girl who had stolen his heart that night so long ago. The first raindrops fell down during the middle of his search.

A glimpse of reddish brown caught his sapphire hued eyes and his heart skipped a beat. Was it her? Was it really her? He looked closer, without trying to look like a creepy stalker in the middle of San Francisco.

Sure enough, it was her, leaning up against her bike, her hair in a damp shroud around her face. Valon turned off his motorcycle and crept closer, her heart going faster and faster has he got nearer.

"Serenity?" He whispered.

She whirled to face him and her eyes widen at the sight, then narrowed to dangerous slits. "Valon? What do you want?" her voice was hash, yet it looked like she had been crying. Did she regret her decision? He prayed she did.

He wringed his hands together nervously. "I came to apologize. I really screwed up ya know."

"You got that right." She crossed her arms. "Go on."

"I know I s'ouldn't 'ave done w'at I did, Raphael really ticked, but I jus' wanted to keep ya safe ya know. I really care 'bout ya 'Ren. I, I t'ink I'm in love wit' ya." There, he said it, those words that he had been denying for so long were now out in the open. He wasn't very good with confessing his feelings. That was in the woman's (and Alister's, if he did say so himself) department.

The rain, which had been a mild shower, began to pour down harder.

"Really? You're in love with me?" She asked, her voice a mixture of awe and wonder.

Valon nodded.

"I guess that makes sense now, why you saved me from the Seal. And the kiss too."

"Yea', t'at wasn't a very good kiss, huh?"

"Well considering that you did it just to get my attention, not really." She flushed suddenly. "Sorry about slapping you."

"T'at's okay, I probably deserved it."

She moved closer to him until her face was only inches away from his. "You most certainly did." She pulled him in for a kiss.

It was like plunging into a pool of hot water for Valon. Every nerve was electrified as her lips made contact with his. The rain no longer affected him, as long as he had her warmth. They finally pulled away after a few breathless moments, Serenity looking upwards at him.

"You know Valon," She finally said. "I love you too." Serenity glimpsed up ward at the darkened sky. "We better get out from this downpour."

"Yeah. I think there's a hotel nearby." He fumbled for his wallet and grabbed a credit card, courtesy of the DOMA organization. "I can pay for it too."

"Good. I'm not in the mood for using mine." She reluctantly pulled herself away from Valon's warmth and got on her motorcycle. "Follow you there?" she asked him.

"'Ren, I'll follow you wherever you go." He said lovingly.

"Well, then you can follow me to the hotel room. I'm tired of getting soaked."

Valon laughed and got on his bike and the two set off for the hotel that Valon had spoken of. Life couldn't have been much better.

**Okay people, Three, Two One: AWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!!!!!!! Romantic moments abound in this chapter, with the exception of Yami and Tea. Guess the Pharaoh isn't going to be getting the girl anytime soon.... sucks for him, but then again, it would be kind of awkward since Tristan was there.. Maybe I shouldn't go there....**

**Oh, and BTW, I'm giving a BIG shoutout to KoK! She's been UBER helpful with background info on season 4(I do not have time to go to youtube,... curse college... :( ) and giving me reviews all the way! The Duelist's Heiress too and Alister's Girlfriend too! Thanks guys! I 3 You!**


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

**Look peoples, I'm not dead yet! Yay! So after fighting off a nasty stomach flu, finals, and a weekend without my laptop (sniff...), I have returned! And then I made the realization that I'm like the feminine version of Seto (shudders at the thought of a feminine Seto)... seriously, I look like the chick version of him (just shorter), it's mildly terrifying to say the least... Anyhoo, here's the next chapter: **

**P.S: Just to clear up any confusion, the sections with Dartz and his cronies take place before and during the train fiasco.**

_Bzzzt! Bzzzt! Bzzzt!_

Valon's DOMA issued Blackberry vibrated on the nightstand of the hotel room. "Oi," he grumbled sleepily. "W'o t'e 'eck would be callin' at t'is bloomin' 'our?" he complained, his hand reaching to turn off the rather annoying device. "T'ey must be a bloomin' idiot. Or a telemarketer." Valon slowly extracted himself from the warm sheets of his bed, stretching like a cat. He yawned mightily and rubbed the sleep from his bleary blue eyes.

"It's probably Raphael of Alister," Serenity replied, running her fingers through her slightly damp hair. Tossing her damp towel on her bed that laid across from his, she smiled at Valon. "Morning sleepy head. Rest well?"

He shrugged. " E', sorta. 'otel beds ain't too comfy ya know."

"Well, you looked pretty out of it to me." Shortly after arriving at said hotel room, Valon had crashed on the bed, snoring lightly and exhausted from previous day. Serenity suddenly giggled. "You snore, by the way."

"I do not!" he protested.

A red leather jacket flew into his face, muffling him. "Yes you do." Serenity glanced at the Blackberry. "By the way, who called?" she asked him.

"Raphael sent a text. Apparently Dartz wants to 'old a meetin'."

"Told you." She turned to the bathroom dryer and began to dry her hair. Any chance that Valon had to try to get a few more minutes of sleep under the warm sheets went out the proverbial window. Sighing, he slowly got up from the bed and headed towards the bathroom to get a shower. On the way to the small, cramped restroom, he gave Serenity a kiss on the cheek, his mood suddenly brightening.

XXXXXXXXX

The conference room of the corporate headquarters of Paradias was quiet and nearly empty, save for the CEO and High Priest of the corporation, Dartz.

He was clad in a mint hued business suit instead of the customary Atlantean garb of a tunic and long robe he was accustomed to wearing; it wasn't exactly conducive for a business meeting to be wearing clothing that went out of style ten thousand years ago. Sitting in a large plush chair, he idly fingered an onyx chesspiece,-- the king to be exact--, watching the artificial light play off the multifaceted surface. He bought the chess set some time ago as a reward for himself for buying out a company. It was an elegant and pricey set, the pieces being made of crystal and onyx pieces.

"Life is just like this set," he mused softly to himself. "There will be those that are manipulated, like the pieces, and those that do the manipulating, like myself." He placed the king piece back and held up a pawn. " And they can also be tossed away when the opportunity is ripe." He set the piece back down and turned away from the chess set, and faced the company logo. "Soon my Leviathan," he began reverently. " You will have the souls you need to rise again, including that of the Pharaoh's." He chuckled to himself.

"Master Dartz," Raphael interrupted. Raphael, Alister, Valon, and Serenity had arrived.

"Well," Dartz started, turning the chair back around to face his top associates. "It looks like you bumbling idiots did it again." While he may have seemed calm and collected, his temper was roiling just underneath the surface, like churning magma under the earth. "You had the three Chosen Duelist in your grasps and you let them slip away. And on top of that, they now have awakened Timeaus, Critias, and Hermos as well. Congratulations, you have officially earned the 'Idiots of the Year' award."

He neatly folded his fingers together and rested his chin on them, Dartz's gold and green eyes scanning the quartet. "Well? Do you have anything to say for yourselves?"

Raphael bent down to one knee. "Forgive us Master Dartz," he beseeched. "Give us another chance and we'll bring back the souls you desire."

"Told ya 'e's a suck up," Valon muttered in Serenity's ear, who smiled at the comment.

"Oh, stop groveling," Dartz berated. "At least you got me a soul, although it wasn't the one I wanted." Dartz eyed Alister, Valon, and Serenity. "I'm talking about the imbeciles behind you." Serenity bristled at Dartz's insult while anger flashed in Valon's eyes, but the teen wisely held his temper in check.

"Give me another chance," Serenity stated flatly, arms crossed. "I'll win this time. I know his deck forwards and backwards. That stupid dragon card threw me off balance last time I dueled him, but I know how to defeat it this time."

Dartz leaned back in his chair. "The last time you dueled him, you botched the duel and nearly lost the duel. How do I know that it won't happen again? Or worse, your sibling bond with him resurfaces?"

Serenity's eye's were as hard as flint as she stared into Dartz's, challenging him."I can assure you, it won't happen." Her voice was cold and emotionless.

"Very well, I'll give you morons another chance." Dartz waved a hand to dismiss them, but in mid motion, he paused. He then smiled, a grin very much akin to a predatory creature. "It seems that we gained two more souls. Looks like Underwood and Raptor were useful after all." He flicked his hand. "Shoo! I have important business to deal with!"

Without a word, the four left, leaving Dartz alone.

XXXXXXXX

The elevator ride down was silent between Valon and Serenity. Valon spoke first. "Serenity, I can't let you-" he began.

"We've already discussed this," she interrupted. "I'm going to be the one dueling Joey and that's final." On the way to Paradias's headquarters, she and him had an argument about her dueling Joey. Valon didn't want her to, after seeing their previous duel; she wanted to.

"It's too dangerous." he insisted. "'e 'as the Claw of 'ermos."

"Oh spare me," she growled. "Was it too dangerous when we went undercover to take down the cartel in Mexico City, or the smuggling ring in Berlin? Was it too dangerous for me then too?"

Valon began to open his mouth to protest, but she cut him off again. "I'm not some sissy girl that needs her boyfriend to hold her hand 24/7! I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself, or have you forgotten in that testosterone fueled head of yours." Her voice tool on a softer edge. "Look Valon, I appreciate the misguided, but this is something I have to do, I have to settle things between me and him, no one else. Got that?"

Valon nodded. The elevator landed up on the ground floor with a electronic 'ding'.

"Good." She softly kissed him on the lips and left the elevator towards where the two of them parked their morotcycles. "I'll see you when I finished it, 'k?"

Valon, still in the elevator, watched her go. He shook his head. _"I'm sorry Serenity," _he thought. _"But t'ere are some t'ings I ain't gonna let ya do and duelin' your brot'er is one of t'em. I can't lose ya, I'm gonna make sure I won't." _With that, he left for his bike as well, mentally preparing himself to hunt down the man that was the source of her pain.

XXXXXXXXXX

The heat shimmered off the desert sand as Mai and Joey made their way westward, following the railroad tracks. The midday sun pounded on the two of them. Mai's motorcycle had ran out of gas about mid-morning, forcing the two of them to push the bike, (there was no way she was going to leave her expensive in the middle of nowhere) with Rex, still unconscious, slumped in the seat.

"Man, it is _hot _out here," Joey complained, taking a swig from one of the water bottles. "I swear, ya could roast an egg out here on the railroad spikes."

"I probably wouldn't recommend it though," Mai replied; she was just as hot and sweaty as he was, (Why the guy just didn't take his shirt off to cool off, she didn't know. It wasn't as if she _wanted _him to take off his shirt, well, maybe just a little...) she wasn't exactly moaning about it every five minutes. She glanced over at him. He had already taken off his jean jacket, draping it across the bike, exposing the white t-shirt underneath. She smiled inwardly at the thought of the night before. After fixing the tent, which brilliant Joey managed to collapse, the two fell asleep in each others arms, her head on his chest, listening to the rhythmic beat of his heart. It was the best night sleep she had gotten since the whole Orichalcos mess started. Of course she wasn't going to admit that, not out loud to him at least.

The bike stopped moving, jerking Mai from her thoughts. Joey had stopped, staring at the 'Claw of Hermos' card, which was glowing all of the sudden. "What on earth--" he started to say, until a beam of light shot out of the card into the sky. Hermos, the monster on the card, was now in the sky, its expansive wings blocking out the sun. Then the dragon shot off westward, intent on some unseen target.

"Hey! Wait up!" Joey shouted, racing off in the direction of the now AWOL beast, leaving Mai alone with the bike.

"Get back here Wheeler!" Mai yelled at him, furious at the fact that he left her. "Don't you dare leave me here, alone, in the stupid freakin' desert!" She stomped her foot into the dusty ground. "Ooh! That idiot!" She ran after him, the bike forgotten, for now at least.

XXXXXXXXXX

The dragon continued to race across the clear blue sky, leaving Joey in its wake.

"Hey," he panted. "Slow,... down, ya big lunk." He then saw a large plane plummeting towards the earth in front of him. Hermos them positioned himself under on of the wings, in an effort to support it and prevent it from crashing. It was joined by two other dragons, one of which looked eerily familiar. "Wait a sec, that one looks like the--"

"Joey!" Tea's voice echoed across the desert. "Thank Heavens you're alright!" Tea, the Pharaoh, and Tristan were running towards him, Tea waving her hands frantically.

"Hey guys!" Joey yelled.

"Dude! You had us worried there!" Tristan pounded Joey across his back. "How on earth did you make it?"

Joey blushed suddenly. "Well, you see," he started. "I ran into--"

"Oh goodie, it looks like the nerd herd has arrived." Seto Kaiba drawled sarcastically, Mokuba tagging close. "So tell me, what are you geeks doing out here in the middle of the desert?"

Joey paused. "Wait, you were in that plane?" he then noticed the Kaiba Corporation logo on the fin of the plane. " And my dragon just saved your life?" He faced Hermos, who was still perched near the plane. "Bad dragon! Bad! No saving my nemesis!" he scolded

Tea smacked her forehead with an open palm. "Really Joey? At a time like this?"

"No Joey, you got it all wrong." Tristan said, grabbing Joey close to him. " Your dragon just saved his skin! He owes you one now!"

Tristan's observation dawned onto Joey. " You're so totally right!" He pointed a finger at Kaiba. "Ha! My dragon just saved your skin! You _soo_ owe me big time now MoneyBags! "

"Um, Joey," The Pharaoh interjected. "We really don't have time for this right now..."

"Well I hope you're happy Joseph!" Mai looked furious as she stomped over to the cadre. "I left my motorcycle, in the desert, just to find you and it turns out that you've been sitting here the whole time!" She grabbed Joey by the ear, and began to drag him back to the direction she came from. "You and I are going back right now to bring my bike back!"

"Ow! Ow! Geez Mai! Do ya have to pull so _hard?_"

"I'm so confused right now," Tristan said, scratching his head.

"You and me both," Tea replied.

Bwahaha, figured I would end this on a slightly humorous note, well it's humorous in my opinion anyways... And methinks that I need to start watching the season four episodes again...

PS: Timeaus and Critias are real people, seriously! I had this History channel special on (but I wasn't really paying attention), then I heard the names 'Timeaus' and 'Critias'. So I went to look them up and turns out they were two names in an ancient Greek script by Plato (I think that was the right name)

Timeaus and Critias were two statesmen in the piece. The name 'Hermos' is abbreviated from the name 'Hermocrates', who was also a statesman and a soldier as well. Isn't that cool? And there you have it folks, my random fact of the the day XD.

Read and review please :)?


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

(or at least I think this chapter eight O_o)

**Ah yes, chapters can run together you know. Thank the Heavens above for summer vacay XD, now I can actually watch the episodes so I know what I'm doing, mostly. Well, I could have watched the episodes while I was at school, but that would have required not doing schoolwork (curse my work ethic)**

**Disclaimer (because I don't think I did one): I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh. The only thing I own that deals with Yu-Gi-Oh are a Slifer the Sky Dragon model and a Red Eyes Black Metal Dragon one. Hey, I was in middle school then! Don't judge me!**

The skyscrapers loomed overhead as Serenity prowled the streets on her motorcycle searching, hunting for her brother, but so far, no avail. She growled at the back of her throat in frustration at the futility of it all; it would take a one in a million chance for him to magically show up here of all places.

" 'Ey girlie! Ya look lost! Wan' some directions?" A man leered at her while his buddies sniggered at the comment. They were a scruffy looking bunch carrying crude weapons like pipes and a lock on a bicycle chain; she swore their leader was wearing a pair of brass knuckles.

"I can assure you bunch of baboons that I'm not 'lost' and I don't need 'directions, especially from you low lives." she sneered, looking at them disdainfully like they were a pile of garbage left alongside the road, which in her opinion, they were.

"Oi boss! She jus' insulted ya!" One of the cronies, the one with the bicycle chain, proclaimed, pointing out the obvious.

Their leader saw red. "'ey ya littl' wench!" He strode over (actually, more like staggered) to her until he was mere inches away from her face. Serenity could smell the whiskey on his breath. " I don' need yoa to insult me like that, in my territory!" he hissed, exposing yellowed teeth.

"Oh, your 'territory' huh? What did you do, mark it like a dog?" She asked him. "Now kindly back your whiskey stinking carcass away from my face before I remove it for you." Her voice was calm, yet holding a dangerous tone, like a churning river under a sheet of ice.

"Why ya little..." he grabbed her wrist in a vice like grip, trying to jerk her off her motorcycle. "Ya think you're all tough with your insults and your littl' bike huh? Well, I'll tell ya somethin'--" he never got to finish his statement as Serenity's dueldisk slammed into the man's nose. There was an audible crunch as his nose broke. He staggered back, clutching the profusely bleeding nose, which now looked like a hunk of raw meat affixed to his face. "Get he' boys!" He yelled, or at least, that what his associates thought he said, considering that his nose was now rapidly swelling as well. With a shout, the gang charged her.

Of course, during this time, Serenity took the opportunity to draw a couple of cards from her deck. She flashed a predatory grin when she saw what the cards were.

"I summon 'The All Seeing White Tiger' and the 'Paladin of Midnight'!" She shouted to the skies. A massive four-eyed white tiger and a woman clad in black armor and wielding a talwar* appeared on the field, protecting their master.

The guy wielding the bike chain barked in laughter. "You think that a bunch of them holographic monsters can help ya?" He soon screamed in pain as the white tiger pounced on him.

"I'm afraid boys," she said in a sickeningly innocent tone. "That these aren't just 'holograms'."

The night air was filled with the screams of the condemned.

After the street gang received their just desserts, Serenity's Blackberry started to vibrate. Seeing the collar ID, she picked it up and answered it. "Hello?"

"Hello Serenity, it's Raphael."

"Well, I did deduce that from the caller ID you know."

"I have some news for you."

"Really? What! Spill the beans Raph'." She was one of the very few people that could get away with calling Raphael, 'Raph'.

"Alister lost in his duel with Seto Kaiba."

"Wow, that's rough. Anything else?" She knew that wasn't the only reason that Raphael had called her.

"Yeah. The Pharaoh and his friends are coming here, namely the corporate headquarters of Kaiba Corp."

"Including Joey?"

"Yes."

"Good. Let me handle the Mutt, you take care of his other friends."

"The girl with the stone's with them too." Dartz's top men (and girl) all knew about the woman with the gold stone. After all, she was the only known person who could permanently destroy the Orichalcos stones; the only problem was, they didn't know her identity, the DOMA associates only knew her as 'The Harpy Queen', named after her deck. Of course, with a nickname like that, it didn't take a genius to figure it out who it was.

Serenity nodded. _"Well, it looks like I'll be taking out two birds with one stone then. Joey Wheeler and Mai Valentine." _Serenity figured out the identity of 'The Harpy Queen' a long time ago, shortly after she joined DOMA; she just didn't see the need to tell anybody. Besides, it was a lot more fun watching them wrack their little brains trying to figure it out. "I'll handle them both then. Oh, and by the way Raphael?"

"Yes Serenity?"

"Tell Dartz that he'll be getting, oh, about half a dozen or so souls to add to that collection of his." she added, contemptuously nudging one of the gang member's unconscious bodies.

"Someone give you trouble?"

"Not anymore. I'll see you soon, 'kay?"

"Bye." Raphael hung up on his end. Serenity looked down at the bodies strewn around her. "It's always good to do a little warm-up round before the big game." She joked to herself. She got back on her bike and was on her way again, searching for her elusive prey.

XXXXXXXXXXX

After retrieving Mai's stranded bike (it wasn't really that far from where the gang was, she was pretty much exaggerating), one of Kaiba's employees landed with a large helicopter, telling Seto Kaiba that his company was just bought out; the man practically fainted right then and there. Currently, the 'nerd herd' and Seto Kaiba were sitting in said helicopter.

The tension was thick in the air as they huddled around Seto's computer, watching as some of Kaiba's employees were uploading some images of some engravings at a museum.

"So you're telling me that these ruins predicted that this so called 'Great Leviathan' will come again and destroy the earth?" Mai was asking.

The Pharaoh nodded. "Exactly. And if we don't stop Dartz soon, he will have amassed enough souls to fuel this Leviathan and bring it back to our world."

Mai massaged her temples. "I have got to stop hanging out with you guys. You're like the mythical equivalent of Murphy's Law: If there's anything that's mystical or magical that can go wrong, it will go wrong." Joey's hand brushed up against her free hand, in an effort to comfort her, albeit in a subtle way.

Kaiba rolled his eyes. "Seriously? Don't you ever get tired of spewing that crap? Maybe you should form a religion with that crap, like Scientology."

"Kaiba," the Pharaoh. "This is a very serious matter. You've seen the evidence, you have the card that proves it." He made a gesture towards the 'Claw of Critias' which was buried in Kaiba's deck. " And now the man who's orchestrating all of this has now taken over your company. You cannot be possibly be saying that this is 'crap'."

Someone's still a little touchy from losing your title aren't we?" Kaiba sniped.

"That crosses the line Kaiba!" Tea snapped. "The world's in danger and you're still talking about some 'title'!" I don't believe you."

"Um guys?" Tristan was pointing at the computer screen. "I think your employees are being attacked by ninjas." Kaiba's men, the ones that were downloading the images, were currently being pummeled by what appeared to be ninjas.

"Holy crap! They _do_ look like ninjas!" Joey exclaimed, which promptly earned a slap to the back of the head by an irate Mai.

"Whatever. At least we have the images." Kaiba sent the images to Rebecca Hawkins.

"The images are really fuzzy," Rebecca, whom Kaiba connected to through a webcam, complained. "They're really hard to translate and my laptop doesn't have the software to get a better resolution on them."

Kaiba nodded. "Alright. Roland, take us to KaibaCorp Headquarters."

"What!" Joey shouted. "Are ya crazy?"

"Look Mutt, my computers have the capability of of translating this mumbo jumbo. Plus, I want my company back."

"And you think that waltzing in there and simply demanding your company back will do anything for ya?" Joey muttered under his breath.

"It's the only way Joey." Yami explained.

Joey sat back down. "Alright. So how are we gonna take down this creep?"

"The Pharaoh and I will sneak into KaibaCorp Headquarters and hack into the computers to clear up the photos. Then we'll send them to your little archaeologist friend, so they can translate. Though why I'm doing this for you I don't know."

"And what about the rest of us?" Tristan asked.

"You'll stay with Rebecca and Duke, whom we'll meet at the pier. It'll be safer that way." The Pharaoh added.

Mai made an irritated noise. "Um hello? I have the only thing here that can actually defeat the Orichalcos. I should come with you too." She failed to notice the pained look that flashed across Joey's face as she said that. He didn't want her to go, but he knew it was wise to not say anything, his head still hurt from earlier.

"I'm sure we can handle this without the need of your pretty little rock." Kaiba looked like he was about to say something else, but was interrupted by a nudge to the side from Mokuba's elbow.

The rest of the helicopter ride was in silence as each one of them tried to take a quick nap before the long night. Joey was the only one awake though, Mai had fallen asleep with her head on his shoulder, her long blond hair brushing up against his cool skin. He gave her a fond smile, his eyes softening was he watched her. _"I guess one good thing came out from this whole mess," _he thought,. _"But now's not the time for that. What matters most right now is bringing Yugi back and savin' my sister. I promise sis, I'll save you from these creeps no matter what it takes, even if it means I give up my soul to do so."_

And the helicopter flew off into the night, colliding headlong into a war that was ten thousand years in the making.

**You guys should feel special, two chapters in a week's span, actually, less in a week's span, so be very, very grateful for my benevolent act lol. And you can repay for my benevolent act by ****reviewing. Yes, see that little button? Press it and review, that will be all thank you very much.**


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Holy OMG! Two chapters in two days!

PS: I put an asterisk next to a word in the last chapter, but I didn't explain what it was. A talwar is a large sword of Indian origin. It is essentially the Indian equivalent of the Scotish claymore. So in other words, it's a really big sword. And I want one for my room, the claymore I mean. What? I'm of Celtic heritage, Am I not allowed to want one?

With a thump, the KaibaCorp helicopter landed on the pier, where Rebecca, her grandfather, and Duke were waiting on them.

" 'S about time you guys got here." Duke huffed. "What took so long?"

Joey shrugged. "Um, traffic?" Mai rolled her eyes behind him.

"Oh your humor is so dearly needed at this hour," Rebecca remarked sarcastically.

"Ahem." The Pharaoh cleared his throat, getting their attention. "So does everybody know what to do?" he asked.

Everyone nodded.

"Good." The Pharaoh gave an apprehensive smile. "I wish everyone the best of luck."with that he and Seto Kaiba left towards the direction of KaibaCorp Headquarters.

"Wait!" Rebecca's shout stopped the two of them. "You're gonna need some tech support. You never know if those goons changed the security on you."

"Please," Kaiba scoffed. "I'm quite capable of handling some moron's security changes. I don't need some little kid tagging along like this were some sort of field trip."

"Little kid! Ooh, that jerk." If it were psychically possible, steam would have poured out of Rebecca's ears.

Mai placed a hand on the young girl's shoulder. "Don't worry about it kiddo. He's a jerk like that 24/7. We've all pretty much learned to ignore it. If anything, channel that anger towards the jerks that caused all this."

Rebecca let out a sigh. "I guess you're right." She gave a pointed look towards Duke. "Well? Aren't you going to follow them?" I can't exactly drive you know."

"Nor can she reach the pedals," Joey muttered to Tristan, who snickered at the joke.

XXXXXXXXXXX

The drive in the RV was very cramped as six people sat in it. They made a stop as Tea had the idea of informing the police of the situation at hand. Her and Tristan left the vehicle, leaving the others, Joey, Mai, Professor Hawkins, Rebecca, and Duke (who was still in the driver's seat) waiting for their return. Rebecca Hawkins was trying to set up a connection to KaibaCorp's security system with her laptop, but couldn't get past one of the firewall. She was busy vocalizing her frustration at the piece of uncooperative equipment.

"Come on, you stupid piece of junk! Is it that hard to penetrate one measly firewall? I swear, if I could kick you I would!" Her fingernails were furiously tapping away on the table top, while she struggled to maintain her composure, biting her bottom lip as she did so.

Joey, on the other hand, was pacing back and forth in the RV. The teen was about to burst with impatience. The longer he waited, the more time that could be used to find Serenity was flying out the proverbial window.

"Will you quit pacing!" Rebecca demanded. "You're making it very hard to concentrate!" While she had the intellect of an adult, she still had the temper of a pre-adolescent.

"Rebecca's right you know," Mai was coolly flipping through her deck, trying to create new strategies. "Pacing like that isn't going to help anything. Put your energy into something more productive, like your deck."

"I know, I know. But I just can't sit here. The more time I sit, the less chance I have into finding her." Joey didn't need to explain to Mai who 'her' was.

" I know, Joseph. Just be patient, the Pharaoh and Kaiba will be back soon and then they'll help us. Well, the Pharaoh will anyway, I'm not quite sure about Kaiba."

Joey sat down in a chair, looking defeated; Mai had a point, the only thing he could do was wait.

"Ha! I got it!"

"What do you have Rebecca?" Professor Hawkins asked his granddaughter.

"You know the underground tunnel that Kaiba has?"

"How could we?" Mai answered, sarcasm creeping into her voice. "He and the Pharaoh went into it like five minutes ago."

Rebecca ignored her, she wasn't in the mood to get into a war of wits. "Anyway, I noticed that there were a couple of places that I could connect my laptop to. I suspect that Kaiba set those up for his laptop. I'm thinking that I could use those to get a better connection and possibly stand a better chance of hacking into his system."

"And how is putting the laptop in a different place going to help?" Joey looked like a confused puppy, tilting his head to one side.

"Well, I could explain it in more technical terms but I'm really not in the mood to watch your head explode."Rebecca closed her laptop and started to make her way outside. "Maybe some other time though." But just as she was about to step out of the RV, she was nearly ran over by a panting Tristan and Tea.

"Whoa dude? Where's the fire?" Joey looked down at a prone Tristan, who had collapsed on the floor of the RV, Tea bent over nearby. Rebecca was clinging to the side of the door, clutching her laptop possessively; it nearly was launched into the air, almost making a one way trip with the road outside.

"We found some police, but it turns out that they're in league with Dartz," Tea panted panic in her eyes. "Then this big armored _thing_ started chasing us. It was the same thing that the Pharaoh had to face when we got separated."

"Well, did you beat it?" Rebecca queried, looking fearfully outside.

"I think we lost it," Tristan replied

"So it's still out there, then?" Rebecca looked like she was about ready to have a panic attack.

"Well, if it's any consolation, it's probably to stupid to follow us."

"Oh, yes Tristan, that's _real _assuring," Joey popped his head outside the door, looking both ways. "But I hate to admit it, you might be right. No ugly looking critters out here."

"There better not be," Rebecca muttered as she shouldered her way past Joey towards the tunnel entrance and the connector.

XXXXXXXXXXX

The group climbed down to the tunnel, where they huddled around Rebecca as she quickly set up her laptop; her prediction was correct, within a few minutes, she managed to hack into Kaiba's security system with very little trouble, though there was this little security thing that looked very much like Kaiba's favorite monster, threatening to delete all of her files. _(A/N: Remember that Toonworld bunny from the Duelist Kingdom season? Yeah, that's pretty much what this thing is, only less creepy and mentally scarring, sorry about the commentary.)_

"You know, you would think that for a genius running a technology company, he would have a better security system. That was way too easy," Rebecca said.

"Well, I don't know about you guys, but that Blue- Eyes gave me the creeps." Tristan shuddered. "That man has _way _too much of an obsession with that dragon."

"No kidding."

"Wait a sec guys, Kaiba's sending me something." Rebecca interjected. "It's stuff about this 'Paradias' company. I've never heard about it, and I'm pretty business savvy. It says that the head of Paradias is Dartz."

Tea shook her head in disbelief. "Whoa, how can a guy that's ten thousand years old run a financial company?"

Joey shot her a confused look. "What do you mean that he's ten thousand years old?"

" We met this guy named Ironheart and he told us that Dartz used to be the ruler of Altantis."

"Yeah, until he went a little loco in the head thanks to the Orichalcos." Tristan made the 'crazy' gesture.

"Makes you wonder what kind of moisturizer he's using," Mai was studying the image of Dartz that Kaiba had sent. "That guy doesn't look a day over thirty."

"Yeah, I wonder what brand," the group gave Duke a queer look. "What? I guy can't beauty products too?"

Joey grabbed Rebecca's laptop, any patience he had was now long gone. "Did he send the location of this 'Paradias' headquarters?"

"Well, obviously--" Rebecca began to explain but was cut off by Joey's shout of 'Got it!' and the impromptu flight of her laptop.

"Joey! Just what in earth do you think you're doing?" Mai yelled, but he was long gone. "He's going to get himself killed out there!" She started to go after him.

"Wait Mai, where are you going?" Tea grabbed the hem of Mai's jacket, stopping the blond in mid-climb.

"Joey's going after Serenity. I have the only way that can save them both." The gold gemstone flashed as if to reiterate that point. "I have to find him before he gets in a duel. If he does, there's no way I can save him." Losing him was the last thing she wanted.

Tea let go of Mai's jacket. "Alright, but be careful, okay?"

Mai smiled at the brunette. "Of course I'll be alright kiddo." Soon Mai was gone too, searching and praying that she wasn't going to be too late.

** And on a random tangent: Okay, is it just me, or does Seto Kaiba have like some secret superhero fantasy? I mean seriously, he has secret underground lairs (from season one), secret tunnels, a really cool outfit (it's a trench coat that defies gravity, what more can one ask for?), uber-rich, and he has tons of techie toys.. its like he's the Yu-Gi-Oh equivalent of Bruce Wayne, it makes one wonder.... **


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

**Before we start this chapter, let's play a game called 'Name That Pop Culture Reference!' Hidden within the recesses of this chapter is a pop culture homage. If you guess the pop culture reference, you get a cyber cookie! And a hug, maybe, I'm not quite sure about the hug part yet lol.**

The wind was beginning to pick up, causing Mai to shiver, even though she was wearing a jacket. She had lost all trace of Joey, as if he had disappeared off the face of the planet, which worried her deeply. She had to find him and give him the stone; it was the only thing that could save both him and his sister, Serenity.

The wind keened as it wound its way between the skyscrapers, adding to the tension that was thick in the air.

Mai cupped her hands to her mouth as she called out Joey's name. "Joey! Joey! Where are you? Say something, please!" Panic was starting to creep into her voice, but she couldn't help it really; to lose him would be to lose the most precious thing in her life. Memories of her duel with Marik sprang up as her train of thought went down that dark path once more. She knew that one day she would have to confront this part of her past, but now was not the time to go down memory lane.

A couple of trashcans tipped over to her right as she saw something lurch towards her. It looked like something out of a bad horror film, a hunched over creature clad in armor. One of the pieces on the thing's arm looked a lot like the duel disks that the members of DOMA used. The Orichalcos Seal glowed on the creature's forehead as it hissed, its rank breath washing over her.

"Oh that's just great," she hissed, irritated that her search had to be interrupted by this _thing. _The Orichalcos soldier suddenly lunged at her, its swiftness catching her off guard. She stumbled back a few steps, her heeled boots wobbling on the uneven pavement.

"I knew I should have worn better shoes," she rued, dodging another swipe from the creature's arm blades. Then, the heel on one of her boots caught onto a small pothole and she fell backwards, landing on the pavement, now at the monster's mercy.

Sensing its advantage, it snarled, exposing, pointed teeth, and lumbered closer to her. Instinctively, Mai drew a card from her deck and blindly slapped down onto her duel disk. The disk glowed for a quick moment, then faded just as quickly.

_"Well me, that was _real _brilliant. As if slapping a Duel Monsters card is going to save you now. Wait a second-," _Mai felt something hard under her left hand. Looking down, she saw a whip, studded with rose thorns, gripped in her hand. _"Then again, it just might." _The Orichalcos monster swung its claws down towards her face and she made her move. Cracking the whip, she managed to stop the monster in mid attack, the rose thorns digging deep in the soldier's hand and arm. Mai then yanked the whip forward, jerking the monster in the same direction and smashing its head into the light pole that was next to her. Dazed, the monster staggered back, moaning and clutching its head and giving Mai some breathing room. She disentangled the whip from the creature's arm and brought it back down again while the Orichalcos soldier was distracted. The monster exploded as the whip made contact.

_ "Maybe I oughta get a fedora to go with the whip. Bet I would look good in it too." _She held up her 'Rose Whip' magic card and kissed it before sliding the card back into her deck and resuming her search.

XXXXXXXXXXX

_"Man, the city seems quiet, maybe too quiet,"_ Joey thought as he made his way in the streets. He was in a shabby looking part of the city, derelict buildings all around him, the smell of decay in the air. The wind picked up, forcing Joey to pull his jean jacket closer to his lean frame. _"I bet it's cause all those monsters Tea was talking about. It kind of reminds me of the train ride, how every one disappeared." _A snarl coming from his left interrupted his thoughts. He had been so engrossed in his thoughts that he didn't notice that an Orichalcos soldier had appeared right next to him. The Seal of the Orichalcos flashed on its forehead as it charged towards the blond teen. Of course Joey did the most sensible thing a person could do when confronted in this situation.

He ran. Really fast.

Tripping and stumbling, he scrambled away from the monster, narrowly ducking under one of the creature's arm blades. In order to slow the creature down, Joey knocked over a clump of trashcans in mid-flight; however, the Orichalcos soldier merely knocked the cans aside, detritus and trash flying everywhere as the cans went tumbling away.

As Joey ran, a bright light filled his vision and he was nearly run over by a man on a motorcycle, though why anybody would be randomly riding a cycle at this time of night, in this part of town, Joey didn't know.

"Hey man!" The man snarled, clearly irritated. "Watch where you're going!" the man brusquely shoved his way past Joey and towards the direction of the Orichalcos monster.

"Um, you might not wanna go that way," Joey began, but he was cut off by the man's high pitch scream as he ran into the monster. Growling deep in the back of its throat, The Orichalcos soldier lifted the man up by his helmet and tossed him aside as if he weighed nothing more than a feather. The helmet rolled off the man's head as he crashed into a pile of garbage bags, blissfully unconscious.

Joey winced. "Ooh, he's gonna smell in the morning."

Distraction set aside, the Orichalcos turned its sights onto Joey. Baring a mouth full of razor sharp fangs, it charged once again, fully intent on finishing the job. Joey glanced around, looking for a way out, but the only way was the direction that the biker came from and from what he could tell, it was a straight and narrow road, living little room for maneuvering. That meant he would have to confront the beast right then and there.

Joey dodged another blow from the creature's arm blades and sent a fist into the beast's abdomen. Much to his surprise, the monster exploded, sending tiny shards into the air, and revealing a blue eyed man on a motorcycle.

Joey recognized him as one of the men watching he and Serenity's duel, the one Serenity was supposedly in love with. "Valon," he hissed, bile rising in his throat.

"Well, well, look's like 'e recognizes me after all," Valon sneered. "Long time, no see W'eeler."

"What have you done with my sister?" Joey shouted, hands clenched at his sides, his entire body quivering in anticipation like a tightly coiled spring.

"Well, if ya follow me, I'll s'ow ya," Valon turned the bike around and left Joey in a plume of black exhaust.

Joey frantically looked around trying to find a way to pursue the Australian teen. "Aha!" he crowed, finding the motorcycle from earlier. Reaching for the discarded helmet, he patted the unconscious man on the cheek. "I'm only just borrowing it for now. I promise I'll bring it back, 'kay?" The motorcycle turned on with a roar and Joey was off, chasing down the man who had corrupted his sister.

XXXXXXXXXXX

After a lengthy chase that involved a taco stand and scenes reminiscent of an action movie, Joey finally caught up with Valon, meeting up with him in an abandoned lot.

"T'is looks like a lovely spot to duel, don't ya t'ink, mate?" Valon asked, placing his helmet on the seat of his bike. "Nice and quiet, wit' no one to bug us."

"Yeah, whatever," Joey growled, he was in no mood to play around. He wanted his sister back and he didn't care who stood in the way. "Now what have you done with my sister?"

Valon looked around and shrugged. "I don't know. Apparently s'e ain't 'ere at t'e moment.

If looks could kill, Valon would have been lying in a pool of his own blood.

"If ya want ya sister back, you're gonna have to duel me, but I'm quite positive t'at s'e doesn't wanna come back to ya."

"Look Valon, I'm not in the mood to play games."

Valon ignored Joey's comment. "I 'ope ya realize t;at you're t'e reason t'at s'e came to me in t'e first place. I really oug'ta t'ank ya for t'at one. S'e was alone, wit' no one to care for 'er. Well, s'e's 'appy now, and I ain't gonna let ya take t'at away from 'er. It's because of ya s'es un'appy. You're the cause of 'er pain and I can't stand for it anymore. So I'm gonna take ya out and 'elp 'er move on."

Joey shook his head. "Look Valon, I don't know what kind of brain washing drugs you goons use, but can't you see that you're making her unhappy as well? She's doing things that she never would do if she were her old self. Yeah, I messed up as her brother,-"

Valon crossed his arms. "Ya got t'at rig't."

"But What matters now is that I'm here now and I'm going to make it right."

"T'e only way you're gonna make it rig't is by feedin' your soul to the Great Leviat'an!" Valon activated his duel disk. "It's time to duel!"

Joey sighed. He didn't want to do this, he saw what happens when the Seal of Orichalcos was activated, but he had no choice; he wasn't going to back down now, especially if it meant saving his sister from these freaks. "Alright then, it's time to duel!" He activated his disk as well. _"Man I wish I had Mai's rock right about now, I could really use it." _he wished.

XXXXXXXXXXX

"What do you mean 'they ran off''?" Yami looked as if he were about to explode.

"Joey ran off first, to go find Paradias, then Mai went after him. She looked really worried too." Tea explained.

The Pharaoh paused; he had no reason to me mad at Tea and the others, that's what Dartz would have wanted to watch the group divide and fall. "Then we'll need to find them both before it's too late." He turned to Duke and Rebecca. "Will you be alright by yourselves?"

Duke flashed him a thumbs up. "Course. Becks and I can take care of ourselves, right?"

Rebecca nodded in consent. "Right. You go find Joey and Mai."

"Very well then. We'll see you soon." The Pharaoh began to ran off, Tea and Tristan running after him.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

**So the original idea of this chapter was to write the ENTIRE duel between Valon and Joey, with a couple of minor conversational changes of course. Then I realized the impractically of the whole thing (I prefer character development and the more 'magical' side, aka Egypt and the Atlantis stuff of the series) and I have decided to write the more important parts, in my opinion. Sorry folks :(. . . Please don't kill, or flame, me.**

The light of the Seal of the Orichalcos illuminated the battle, casting everything in an eerie green glow. In a matter of a few turns, Valon had Joey down to less than half of his lifepoints. The armor deck Valon had built was designed for an all out offense, a strategy that caught Joey off guard. Now he was paying for it. Bruises, visible and hidden, covered the blond teen's body from head to toe, one eye was blackening and he had a nasty cut on his lip, all a result of Valon's assault. And Valon had barely a scratch on him; the armor had protected him.

"Like I always said, a good defense is a good offense, and 'ere I t'oug't ya were t'e big scrapper t'at Serenity told me about." Valon flashed a smile, the one that a person wore when they were absolutely confident of victory. One could say it was reminiscent of a wolf before they made the final kill. Over the course of one's duel within the Orichalcos Seal, the Seal would slowly drain the life energy of both duelists, like a leech, very similar to duels fought in the Shadow Realm. The real winner was the one who could last the longest. Valon's assault had expedited the energy drained from Joey; the guy looked like who could barely stand, let alone play another card.

"I'm not like that anymore." Joey panted, spatting out a glob of blood.

"Obviously. You're out of s'ape." Valon crossed his arms and studied his opponent for a moment. "Ya know, ya and I 'ave a lot in common."

" 'Had'. I said I'm not like that anymore."

Valon ignored him. "Ya and I, we're fig'ters and we'll always be." His mind's eye took him back to that night, the night where his world came crashing down around him in flames. _"I always was." _Sister Mary would always asked him why he fought, and yet he never had a good answer for her. He had a fierce temper that didn't take much to ignite, like throwing a lit match in a fireworks factory. How ironic it was for his fiery temper to reflect the night the church-his sanctuary- burned down. "It was on t'at nig't t'at I lost t'e will, my reason to fig't. T'en, I met 'er."

"Serenity."

Valon nodded. "S'e was so cold, so broken, someone 'ad to 'elp 'er. I became 'er knig't in s'ining armor. S'e needed me, and I needed 'er."

Joey was silent throughout all this. Ever since she joined _them, _he had always the impression that they had managed to brainwash her, kidnapped her, anything but the fact that she joined on her own free will. But now, he wondered, if he had been in the wrong the whole time, that she _did _join them on her own will, for him. "Well, if you were her 'knight in shining armor', why didn't the two of you leave this organization then instead of staying in an group that wants to destroy the world?"

"Because neit'er of us 'ad anyw'ere to go. W'ere would we 'ave gone? To 'er mum and stepdad? I t'ink not. But enoug' c'itc'at, let's finish t'is duel once and for all."

"I couldn't have said it better myself. My move." Summoning all of his inner strength, Joey drew his next card, praying that the Heart of the Cards was in a good mood that day.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

The Orichalcos stone on Serenity's choker flashed as she drove, causing her to put on the breaks. "Someone's played the Seal," She said. "That better not have been Valon." She hissed; he seemed to have the notion that he was going to duel her brother stuck in that Aussie head of his. Turning her bike around, she drove off in the direction where the magic of the Orichalcos was strongest.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Around the time that Serenity's Orichalcos stone began to glow, Mai's gold stone started to as well. "Please don't let it be Joey," She prayed. She held the stone out in front of her like a mystical divining rod, hoping to find some semblance of direction. Instead, it jerked around like crazy, giving no clear sense of where the Seal was. She cursed under her breath. "Looks like I'm just going to have to do this by instinct instead." She chose a path that seemed most logical and ran in that direction.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Man! I hate these stupid things!" Tristan moaned. He, Tea and The Pharaoh were surrounded by a group of about fifteen Orichalcos soldiers, all shambling forward towards the group.

"Yeah, they remind me of a bad B- movie!" Tea scrambled back as she dodged a swipe gracefully, evidence of all her years of dance classes.

" We don't have time for this!" The Pharaoh shouted to the sky above, , as if his gods could here them. Sadly, on this night, they turned a blind eye to the 5000 year-old spirit; he was on his own. He jerked out a card from his deck and slapped it down on the duel disk. "I summon Timeaus!" A lithe, blue green dragon appeared in the sky above him, its wings churning up dust and debris as he landed.

Yami heard the dragon's voice in his head._"Your wish is my command," _Timeaus said reverently. The dragon unleashed a white-hot plume of flame at the Orichalcos soldier, incinerating them on sight as they stood there stupidly watching their comrades turn into a pile of dust. Said Orichalcos problem was now eliminated.

"Now why didn't we do that sooner?" Tristan asked.

The troop of three were now back on their way, searching for their wayward friend.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Now t'is," Valon panted. " 'as been one 'eck of a duel." Joey had turned the duel around, managing to summon his dragon, Hermos, and his own suit of armor to counter Valon's. Since then, the duel had become one drawn out brawl, the two raining blows upon each other like a pair of season boxers. "It all comes down to to t'is last turn, W'eeler."

Joey nodded and the two rushed towards each other and unbeknownst to them, they had gained an audience member.

"Valon!" Serenity's scream echoed in the abandoned lot. She had just arrived when the two made their final move. Now, one of them was going to lose. The field burst into light, making it nearly impossible to see the results; however, the sudden twinge in her chest told her who the loser was:

Valon.

The light and the smoke finally cleared. Valon was on his knees, watching his lifepoints drain down to zero. He could feel the tug, the signal that the Orichalcos was seeking to claim his soul for his very own. In the corner of his eye, he saw her. Serenity. "I'm, I'm sorry Serenity," he gasped, his energy so drained out of him he could barely speak. "All, all I wanted to do was to make ya 'appy," A tear streaked down one of his cheeks. "I failed ya."

She knelt down next to him, as close as she could with the rapidly closing Seal between the two of them. "Sssshhh," she comforted him. "You didn't fail me. You never had."

Valon gave her a cocky grin. "Ya know I love ya right?"

She nodded, tears now freely flowing her face as well. "I love you too, Valon."

"Your brot'er loves ya too, Serenity. I 'ope ya realize t'at before it's too late" He jerked suddenly, his soul now being claimed. Serenity watched as the life left his eyes and he collapsed to the ground like a ragdoll, now a empty shell.

"No! No, no no!" Serenity shrieked. She turned to Joey, who had been watching the whole time. "You," her voice was suddenly cold and murderous. She stood up. "You caused all this!" She made a gesture to the unconscious Valon. "And now you're going to pay!" She activated her duel disk. "It's time to duel! And for you to pay for everything!"

** Now THAT was a soul wrenching ending, wasn't it, so much sadder than the dub/sub ending with Valon, though the Mai/ Joey one was pretty gut wrenching too, I almost cried, but I didn't because my family was in the living room at the time , though I'm sure that if they weren't there, I would have definitely cried.**

** And the next chappie (or two), will be even sadder, though I won't give any details. . .**


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

**Wow, twelve chapters already,. . . and its still not finished XD. So while I didn't write out Joey's and Valon's duel in the last chapter, I will write Joey and Serenity's duel, since this duel is totally AU and completely new to the season. This is my first time writing out a duel, so you'll have to forgive me if it sucks**

**PS: a LOT of Serenity's cards will be made up since I can't go sneak in my brother's room and take a peek at his cards, but if some of her cards are actually names of real cards, I had no idea I swear. . . so no complaints lol**

He didn't want to, but he had no choice. "Fine, let's duel!" He reset his duel disk and shuffled his deck. He was exhausted; the duel with Valon really took a lot out of him, but this was the only way he could save Serenity, even if it meant letting his soul go in place of her should it ever come to that point. _"And I hope it doesn't," _he thought. "You go first."

"Aw, is big brother trying to be nice?" she sneered. "But no matter, nothing you say or do will make me change my mind." She drew her first card. "Looks like its my lucky day." She peered up at Joey. "Care to take a guess at the card? You always seemed to have a knack for guessing games and relying on chance. Go on guess.

"No," Joey whispered fearfully. "Serenity! Don't play that! You'll know what will happen!"

"Of course I know what will happen! But first, I summon 'The All-Seeing White Tiger'!" A solidly built white tiger appeared on the field, staring down Joey with a hungry look in its eyes. "Next I play the magic card, 'Medallion of the Beast Goddess', which boosts my Tiger's attack and defense points by three hundred points!" A medallion of swirling gold and red appeared around the beast's neck and its points went up. "And now for the instrument of your destruction, I play the Seal of Orichalcos!"

"Serenity don't!"

"It's too late for that _big brother,_" she spat out the past part as if it were a foul taste. The mystical symbols that made the boundary of the Seal etched themselves into the earth in a burst of green flame. The rest of the seal followed suit. For the final touch, the seal appeared on the white tiger's forehead. Serenity's normally gentle hazel eyes took on a dark, red tinted tone.

"Please Serenity, don't do this. Snap out of it" Joey pleaded. "This isn't you."

"Yadda, yadda, yadda. I'm getting rather bored over here. Will you play you next card, or do you just want to surrender and get it over it?"

"Fine be that way." Joey snapped. He drew his first card. "First I summon 'Blue Flame Swordsman' in defense mode. And to end my turn, I place down two face cards."

"Wow, that's really pathetic of you big brother. And here I once looked up to you. I summon my 'Lady of the Bow'!" A blond woman appeared on the field holding a large blue composite longbow. She had 1400 attack points and 1000 defense points; however, thanks to the Seal, the monster now had 1900 attack points. "And thanks to her effect," Serenity explained. "If I have 'Lady of the Sword in my hand, I can summon her to the field. And oh look, here she is. Come on out, 'Lady of the Sword'!" Another woman, bearing a large two-handed sword was now on the field. Joey watched as that monster's attack points went up to 1900 as well. "Attack and obliterate Joey's life points!" The two woman and the tiger all charged at Joey.

"I activate my magic card, 'Scapegoat'!" Four fluffy goats were suddenly on Joey's side of the field. The white tiger destroyed Joey's Blue Flame Swordsman and the two women attacked two of the goats, causing the fluffballs to explode in a flurry of pixels. And thanks to my Swordsman special ability, I can now summon 'Flame Swordsman' to the field." Joey shrugged. "The original is always better I say."

Serenity growled at the failed attack. "Fine. I place two face down cards and end my turn."

"I was wondering when you would be done." Joey drew a card, his hand trembling as he did so. _"Okay, note to self, dueling two duels in a row, especially if they have creepy dark magic, is a really bad idea. I'm about to fall over any minute." _He grinned at the next card he drew. " Prepare to say hello to my little friend!"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The city streets were a veritable maze as Tea, Tristan, and the Pharaoh wandered them. There was still no trace of Joey or Mai. The Pharaoh was starting to grow worried. While Mai had the tools to protect herself from the Orichalcos, Joey didn't, leaving him very vulnerable to the effects of the magic. But he did have Hermos, so that gave the spirit some comfort. He hoped that would be enough to stave off the Orichalcos until they had arrived.

"Joey! Mai! "

"Joey! Where are you?"

"Um guys, don't look now, but I think that Timeaus didn't exactly destroy all of those Orichalcos goons."

"Oh, that's just great!" Tristan shouted.

The Pharaoh sighed and summoned his loyal 'Dark Magician'. _"Dartz is really intent on keeping us away from the two. That's his game, to isolate and destroy all those who oppose him, for he knows that together, we hold the keys to his defeat and that is what truly frightens him. _Dark Magician, destroy the soldiers with your Dark Magic attack!"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"First, I play the magic card, 'Warrior Coming Alive', which allows me to bring back a warrior monster from the grave. Come on back 'Blue Flame Swordsman'! Next, I activate my face down card, Magic Arm Shield'. And since you've seen my duels, you know what this bad boy can do, so I'm taking you 'All Seeing White Tiger'. The contraption grabbed Serenity's white tiger and dragged it to Joey's side of the field, much to the creature's protests.

" And for the _piece de la resistance_, I sacrifice all three monsters to summon 'Gilford the Lightning!'" Lightning sizzled and cracked down from the sky as Gilford appeared on the field. Serenity could practically taste the ozone in the air and the hairs on her arm stand on end as the air was full of static electricity. " Of course, whenever Gilford's summoned to field with a sacrifice, he can automatically destroy all of my opponent's monsters." Lightning crackled on Gilford's massive blade as he sent a bolt of lightning towards Serenity's monsters.

"Sorry, Joey, looks like that little trick isn't going to work. I activate my trap card, 'Singularity Shield'! It absorbs any and all attacks that come from special abilities." The bolt of lightning was absorbed into a black hole that swirled in the center of a large shield.

Joey gritted his teeth in frustration. His sister knew every trick in his proverbial book. _There has to be something that I can use, something that she wouldn't expect._ I place one card face down and end my turn."

Serenity smirked. "Giving up so soon?"

"Serenity, you have to stop this, people will get hurt."

"I already said it was too late."

Joey shook his head. "Look sis-"

"Don't call me that."

"Look Serenity, I know I messed up. I wasn't always there for you like I should have been. I'm not making any excuses. But remember all the times I was there for you. That day at the beach, all the times at the hospital when I visited, your operation for your eyes. Remember all those times Serenity." His world began to spin.

For a moment, Joey swore he saw her falter, but she shook it off.

"That was a long time ago," she said.

"Not that long ago. You know, if it weren't for you, I would have never learned Duel Monsters and we wouldn't be dueling now. I learned how to play the game so I could win the money you needed."

_"I, I never knew that," _Serenity thought. _"He learned to play because of me?" _She shook the feelings off again. _"No!" _she growled. _"I won't give in to his pathetic arguments, his pleas to stop. He's scared and both he and I know it. It's time to finish this and put this to bed."_

"You need to stop this before any more people get hurt." Joey continued.

"Who, like you?"

Joey shook his head. "No, you. Look at Valon. He lost his soul to protect you. The guy really cared for you and now he's gone. Do you want to follow his path?"

_"Valon," _her heart gave another twinge as she glanced over at his fallen body. "I'm not going to be following down that road. It'll be you. Now, my move. I activate the magic card, "Ceremony of the Queen'! This allows me to summon any monster with the phrase 'Lady' in its name. So I summon 'Lady of the Shield' and 'Lady of the Ax' from my deck. Next I activate the magic card, 'Wrath of the Gods'. At the cost of half of my life points, I can wipe out any and all magic and trap cards from the field and your hand." Joey's face down cards exploded, including his last two Scapegoats. "In addition, You cannot play any magic or trap cards for the next three turns, not as if you'll be around within the next three turns."

"Yeah, but you're forgetting one thing," Joey pointed out. "Your Ladies don't have the attack power to destroy 'Gilford', so I'm safe."

" Yes for now, until I play the last piece of your destruction. I use 'Polymerization to fuse all four of my 'Ladies' to summon 'Paladin to the Queen'!" A woman clad in shimmering blur armor appeared on the field. She carried a massive sword and a wide shield. She had the attack points of 2700 and the defense of 2300. The Seal increased her points to 3200.

"Okay, I take that back, maybe she does have the attack strength. But it won't wipe out the rest of my life points."

"True, but she doesn't need to destroy Gilford. Thanks to her special ability, each time I sacrifice my entire hand, she can bypass all of your defenses. 'Paladin to the Queen', bypass 'Gilford and attack Joey directly!" The knight shot right by 'Gilford' and swung her blade down on Joey, knocking him to the ground and sending his points down to a mere eight hundred.

"Man, that 'Paladin' of yours packs quite a punch," Joey struggled to get up off the ground, his legs felt like jello and his peripheral vision was going black. _"I have no options left; that card of hers is preventing me from playing any magic or trap cards and her monster can bypass my monsters as long as she sacrifices her entire hand. I just hope I got through to her somehow. Maybe she see what's happening and she'll stop the duel before its all over. If not, well, I guess that's how the dice rolls." _he got back on his feet. "My,...move." He drew a card. It was the 'Claw of Hermos'. "I summon.. . The Swordsman. . . of Landstar,. . . in attack mode. I. . . end my" he could barely finish his sentence. "Turn."

"Well, I have to say that this was the easiest duel I ever had. I play 'Card of Sanctity' to get a new hand. And now I discard that entire hand to activate 'Paladin to the Queen's' special ability. 'Paladin to the Queen', wipe out the rest- _Wait, why can't I finish the attack? He has nothing there. Nothing can stop me now. I'm so close!" _But she couldn't call the attack.

Joey smiled; he did it. He got through to her. "Congrats. . . sis, you,...win." He sank to his knees, utterly spent.

"Joey no." She ran to him and knelt by his side. "Come on big brother. I didn't call the attack. You still have life points."

Joey placed a hand on her shoulder. "I, know. . . I,. . still do. It's going. . . to be okay. . Serenity. You're. . . okay now. . . and that's all. . . that matt...ers."

"Joey no! Get up Joey please!"

Joey shook his head. "You know. . . I love you, right sis?" He saw the Seal close in on the two of them, impatient for its prey. With the last ounce of his strength, he shoved her out of the ring. "GO!"

The sky was suddenly aglow as the Orichalcos emerge victorious. But it didn't emerge totally victorious. When Joey shoved Serenity out of the Seal, the stone, now losing its hold over the young girl, shattered, pieces flying everywhere.

And just like that, he was gone, his final act to protect his sister.

She stood there in shock over the events that had just transpired. But then it was like a dam breaking. She sank down to her knees and wept, weeping for the two most important men in her life, gone because of her.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Mai felt something shatter inside of her as she ran. Her knees gave way and she fell to the ground, her chest feeling like someone had reached in and ripped her heart out. It was like the pain she felt when Marik took his memory away from her. "No, it can't be." She staggered up right and ran; she knew what had happened. "Joey!"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The Pharaoh's deck began to give off an eerie white glow and Timeaus appeared on the spire of one of the skyscrapers. The dragon let out a mournful cry to the heavens, the cry piercing all the souls that heard it.

"What's going on?" Tea asked, fearful.

"I'm, I'm not really sure." The Pharaoh lied. He knew what had happened. How, he wasn't sure. "We need to find Joey now!"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

After what seemed liked eternity, Serenity spent all her tears. Her eyes were gummy and her throat was dry like parchment. She felt the aching numbness in her chest. _"How could I have done this?" _she wondered. _"How could I have done what I did? Everything that they told me was a lie, insidious, poisonous lies to get me to stay. Everything was a sham. But did that mean everything that Valon told me was a lie too? Even that he loved me? _Was that a lie as well?" She cried out to the sky above. "How could you! How could you trick me into loving you!" She began to weep again, weeping for the love that was a lie.

A scream rang out in the air. Serenity looked up in her numb state to see a blue and blond blur enter her vision. "Noooo! Joey!" Instantly Serenity knew it was Mai. "Wake up Joey! Please wake up!" Mai cradled Joey to her chest, tears flowing down. " You're strong, I know you are. Snap out of this! Joey!" Mai delicately kissed Joey and placed him down. She grabbed Joey's deck from its slot and placed it in her jacket pocket. "I promise I'll bring you back." She whispered.

"Mai," Serenity croaked and the woman turned, noticing Serenity for the first time. "I'm so sorry," Serenity whispered. "He, he chose to lose. He still had life points and he-" She broke down again.

Mai went over to the young girl and placed a comforting hand on Serenity's shoulder, a gesture very much like Joey's last one. "I know. Its what he would have done all along." Its what she would have done as well, but yet somehow it didn't comfort her in the least

Serenity suddenly clung to her, seeking comfort. Mai wrapped her arms around her, holding her like a mother would do to a child.

And the dragons mourned, Timeaus's and Critias's pain filled roars echoing into the night, filling every street and corner, but in the cry was an undertone of vengeance, vengeance for their lost companion. And one way or another, the Dragons will get it.

They always had.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

The Pharaoh had stepped into a nightmare. There was simply no way to describe. He, Tea, Tristan had finally found Joey and Mai, but it was too late for Joey. Yami's deepest fears had come true.

Joey had lost.

Serenity was weeping, Mai holding the poor girl. Shards from an Orichalcos stone were scattered all across the ground. Anger swelled up in the Pharaoh as he puzzled out what had happened. But he couldn't be angry with her, she was a mere pawn in Dartz's game. True, she had made her choice, but he had the feeling that Dartz had manipulated the circumstances needed to influence Serenity's choice. The feeling of anger went away, only to be replaced by pity. Pity for all of those who had fallen under Dartz's spell, including Joey's younger sister.

"Serenity," Yami said, struggling to keep his composure.

"Yugi?" her eyes were empty and forlorn.

"We need your help to take down Dartz," he began. "Will you help us? You could use your expertise." The Pharaoh held out his hand to

Serenity mulled over it a moment, then nodded, taking his his hand. "You can count on me."

The Pharaoh smiled. "Good. Can you lead us to Dartz's headquarters?"

"Yeah. Better yet, I can show you guys a shortcut."

"That, would be very helpful."

"Hey, who's going to carry Joey? We just can't leave him here?" Tea asked.

"I'll carry him." Mai lifted him up and carried him piggy back style. It was the least she could do for him.

They all turned to leave, but Serenity lagged behind, glancing back at Valon. They couldn't carry him as well, so he was to be left behind. She ran to him and knelt by his side. "I'm so sorry for everything's that's happened," she whispered, so that he alone could hear it. "I'm sorry we can't bring you with us, so this may be the last time I'll see you." She kissed him lightly on the lips, her touch light as a feather. "I love you and I hope that we may see each other again someday." She stood back upright and turned to the Pharaoh. "I'm ready."

XXXXXXXXXX

Serenity's shortcut to the corporate headquarters was very helpful, allowing the group to avoid the Orichalcos soldiers and other monsters that patrolled the abandoned the streets. The building that housed Paradias's headquarters loomed above them, a squat building that radiated darkness. It reminded the Pharaoh of a temple, a temple dedicated to a dark god. He shook the feeling off as they entered, knowing that any weakness he exhibited Dartz would exploit.

"Dartz's conference room is on one of the upper levels. If anything, we'll find him there," Serenity said, breaking the silence. "We'll have to take the elevator up."

"Oh goodie, just what we need, to be sitting in a small confined room like a bunch of sardines waiting for the monsters to show up," Tristan muttered. While he didn't direct his anger towards Serenity,-especially after hearing what had happened during Joey's last duel-, he was still somewhat leery about whether the Orichalcos had held some of its influence over Serenity.

Tea elbowed him in the side. "Tristan!" she hissed.

"What? I'm just being pragmatic."

Serenity cast a sideways glance towards Tristan. "Or, if you want, you can take the stairs all the way up to the twentieth level, that way the monsters can ambush you while you're exhausted traveling up said stairs."

"Um, we'll take the elevator instead."

The elevator ride up was silent, each lost in their own thoughts. The lost of Joey was a terrible blow to their morale; after all, if Dartz can take out one of the 'Chosen Duelists', what's to say he can't take out the other two, Kaiba and the Pharaoh?

A sudden jolt to the elevator got their attention. "What was that?" Tea asked, starting to regret using the elevator.

"He's using a scare tactic," Serenity explained. "He doesn't want to kill us, he wants our souls. He's having the monsters to shake up the elevator to scare us. If he was trying to kill us, he would have done that earlier." There was another jolt to the elevator, the small compartment shaking.

Tea clung to the side of the elevator. "Well whatever it is, it's working!"

Then the elevator stopped and the doors slid open, revealing the fact that they weren't on the floor of Dartz's conference room, they were on the roof instead.

A deep voice got their attention. "Hello Pharaoh. I've been waiting for you."

Yami's violet eyes hardened as he recognized the voice. "Raphael." he growled, fists clenched at his side.

Raphael nodded. "Hello Serenity." he acknowledged his former comrade. "I see that you've accomplished your task. Dartz would be pleased." he said, glancing at the limp form of Joey.

"Well screw your friend Dartz! I want Joey back now!"

Tea's jaw dropped to the floor. "Did Mai just give that guy the bird?"

Tristan nodded. "Yep."

"If Joey saw that, he would have a litter of kittens. Or give her the high-five."

"Actually Tea, if Joey woke up right now and saw where he was, he would have a litter of kittens."

Tea paused. "Good point."

Raphael icy blue eyes narrowed at the blond woman. "You'll get your just desserts later." He turned back to the Pharaoh. "I want our rematch Pharaoh, since you cheated and switched souls at the last minute."

Yami flinched, the pain of that memory coming back. He didn't 'switch souls', Yugi took his place for him. But arguing logistics was clearly not on Raphael's list of 'things to do.' "Very well, you'll have your rematch."

"Raphael stop! You don't know what your doing!" Serenity pleaded. "We need to end this! Don't you see how many people we've hurt?"

"This isn't your business Serenity. I know what I'm doing. Please stay out of it."

Serenity shook her head sadly. Out of their group, Raphael was the oldest and most loyal member to Dartz. He had been there the longest, thus the black magic of the Orichalcos was poisoning him the longest. It was up to the Pharaoh to break the hold that the Orichalcos magic held over him. Raphael was like her second brother to her. She had already lost Alister Valon, and Joey to Dartz, she didn't want to lose another.

The Pharaoh took a couple of steps forward to confront Raphael, but a hand on his shoulder stopped him. It was Mai.

"Here," she said, handing him a card. "I have a feeling that you'll need it. Joey would have wanted you to have it."

The Pharaoh looked at the card, then gasped. It was the 'Claw of Hermos', Joey's dragon. "Thank you Mai."

She winked. "No prob. Just kick that guy's butt, okay?"

Yami smiled and flashed her a thumb's up. "Will do."

XXXXXXXXXX _(for the sake of time, the duel between the Pharaoh and Raphael will go exactly by the the show's storyline just so you know)_

The sun rose onto the battlefield, bathing the imposing structure in warm light. After a pitched battle, the Pharaoh had triumphed, breaking the hold the Orichalcos magic over Raphael.

"Raphael! You're better!" Serenity shouted, elated. She ran to him and he crushed her in a bear hug.

Raphael smiled. She was like a second little sister to him. "I'm glad I'm better too, though I'm sorry about Valon and Alister."

Serenity looked away, lest Raphael see the tears that were threatening to form. "I know. I just hope that when this is all over, I'll be able to see him again."

"I'm sure we will."

The building shook with a roar as large cracks began to appear in the roof. Large chunks of debris began to fell and parts of the roof itself began to gave way to the ground below.

"Oh that's just great!" Tristan yelled in frustration. "Are you sure that Dartz isn't trying to kill us?"

"We need to get out of here before the building collapses completely!" Raphael shouted, trying to gain order amidst the chaos.

"Easier said than done!" With the added weight of Joey on her back, Mai was having difficulty trying to keep her balance. "The elevator shaft has been blocked by debris!" the familiar sound of helicopter blades cut through the sound of collapsing rubble. Kaiba was standing by an open door. The Pharaoh faintly remembered that Kaiba had separated from the group after he and him had come back from KaibaCorp Headquarters, however, he had been so focused on finding Joey and Mai he had never really noticed.

"Get in!" He commanded. They ran to the helicopter; however Raphael and the Pharaoh were lagging behind. The Orichalcos had drained Raphael much of his strength, making it difficult to even walk.

"Come on Raphael," The Pharaoh grunted, struggling to support the larger man's weight. "Ge need to get to the helicopter. The stairway they were that led to the helicopter broke from its moorings, screws and other metal shards flying everywhere. The Pharaoh had to shield his face from the flying debris. Their combined weight was to much for the metal structure and it started to to fall sideways, with the two men still on it. In a last ditch effort, Raphael grabbed the Pharaoh by the waist and flung him over to the ledge that the helicopter was on.

"Here!" Raphael threw a small rectangular device to the Pharaoh. "You're going to need it." he fell, along with the structure.

"Raphael!"Yami shouted, but it was nearly impossible to see with the plumes of dust and smoke swirling about.

"Will you just get on already?" Kaiba demanded. "Or I'll just leave you here."

The Pharaoh gave the crevice that Raphael had fallen in one last glance before he entered the helicopter.

As they flew away from the scene, the last vestiges of the building fell away like the shell of a cocoon, revealing a menacing building, spikes and other ancient elements adorning it.

"Well that's not creepy at all," Mai remarked sarcastically.

"Can't say I'm not surprised." The Pharaoh replied. "Oh, Kaiba, Raphael gave me this computer chip. Do you know what it is?" Kaiba briefly examined it before he placed it in the slot of his PDA.

"It's Dartz's headquarters," he stated. He turned to the helicopter pilot. "Here, use these coordinates and take us there."

"Yes sir."

The helicopter flew towards Dartz's temple, the sky above them now a scintillating kaleidoscope of colors. At first glance, one might find the scene beautiful and awe inspiring; however, to those that knew the real reason behind it would find it a ominous sign of things to come. The time had come to confront the man behind the madness, and it would take everything they had to defeat them.

**'Kay, after watching the duel between the Pharaoh and Raphael I realized something; Raphael is a BIG dude. Seriously, that guy could crush a melon between his hands; the Pharaoh went up to that guy's waist Lol**


End file.
